The Boy Behind the Hands
by Writer Of Worlds
Summary: Behind those hands that played with the toys...was a young boy. The kicker? He has Asperger's, which makes life somewhat harder for the child—any child. With his "friends" who are just mere children's toys, he goes through everyday life and fights back against the thing that was building up inside him: Master Core. Based on a Youtube video and how I deal with my ASD.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: The Boy Behind the Hands**

 **Fandom: Super Smash Bros.**

 **Rating: T**

 **Genre: Angst/Drama**

 **Summary:** **Behind those hands that played with the toys...was a young boy. The kicker? He has Asperger's, which makes life somewhat harder for the child—any child. With his "friends" who are just mere children's toys, he goes through everyday life and fights back against the thing that was building up inside him: Master Core. Based on a Youtube video and based on how I deal with my Asperger's, which is a form of autism.**

 **Pairings: None.**

 **A/N: This fanfic is actually based off of a couple of theories on SSB: one where the fighters were actually toys, and there is actually a child behind Master and Crazy Hands. The other one? There was a theory on Youtube that says that said child is actually autistic. Being autistic myself (I have Asperger's), I feel I should write this not only for awareness about Asperger's/autism, but also to educate those about it.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anyone in the SSB fandom. I only own Matt and a few others.**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

 **The Boy Behind the Hands**

 **Chapter 1**

"RAWR! I am Master Hand! NO one can defeat me!"

A short, Italian man turned to face a large, gloved hand that had appeared. The hand laughed in a sinister manner as it floated on the right side of the stage—Final Destination—ready to fight. The man, known as Mario, glared at the large hand and held his fists up.

"You-a won't get away with-a this, Master Hand!" Mario cried, his teeth gritting and his fists tightening.

The air around them was tense as they stared each other down. Neither of them moved until a bell rang.

With a yell, Mario jumped straight over to Master Hand and kicked him hard on the palm. The hand did not even flinch as it chuckled. "Nice try, Mario, supposed hero of the Mushroom Kingdom!" he taunted as he slapped the plumber.

Mario cried out in pain as he was sent flying through the air. Despite the space atmosphere, gravity remained as if they were on Earth. Mario hit the ground, but he quickly got back up. With a battle cry, he jumped towards the large hand and raised his fist up, punching Master Hand into the air.

Master Hand cried out, but again, he did not even flinch.

"Now, prepare to meet your—"

"MATT!"

Final Destination suddenly turned into a large bed. Mario had his fist up in the air, and an ungloved hand was holding him up. The person to whom the hands belonged placed Mario down on the blue blankets, as a sigh escaped him. He then pulled off his one glove.

* * *

A boy, who appeared to be six years old, got up from his knees. His dark brown eyes scanned his body to see if there was any dust on him, but he didn't find any. As he ran his hand through his blond hair, he heard a feminine voice calling him from the kitchen. "Matt! Come on! Your dinner's getting cold!"

"Coming, Mommy!" the boy named Matt shouted back. He grabbed Mario and walked towards a toy chest. "Sorry, Mario," Matt spoke. "We'll play again later."

That was when Mario moved. The Italian plumber looked up at the boy, a smile on his face before nodding. "Okie dokie!"

Matt smiled at his toy's response before placing Mario in the toy chest. Inside, there were more toys of other Nintendo characters, such as Kirby, Samus, Fox, and so on.

"MATT!" the voice in the kitchen shouted.

"I'm coming, Mommy! Just needed to put my friends away!" Matt hollered.

"Don't you mean your toys?!"

Matt shook his head at the response as he ran towards the kitchen. The smell of pizza wafted through the air, making the young boy's mouth water as he arrived in the kitchen. There, his mother and father were already eating at the table.

"There you are, Matt," his mother said. "Your pizza's sitting right there. No olives or pepperoni, as you like it, right?" She pointed at the two slices of pizza that sat on a plate.

Matt nodded. "Tanks, Mommy." He sat at the table and began eating his food.

The family ate in silence. The boy, as he ate his pizza, continued to think of his toys, who he thought of as his "friends". Matt didn't have any friends to play with, due to being "different" than the other children, so he used his toys to play by himself. Thanks to his wild imagination, he considered the toys to be living, breathing people, much to his parents' concern. Despite his parents trying to make him act "normal", Matt had no idea how to be that way. Instead, he continued to play with his toys and talked to them as if they were real.

"So Matt…" Matt snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his father's voice. He turned to face him, and his father continued, "How's your weekend? You've been in your room the whole time."

Matt smiled. "I've been playing wit my friends, Daddy. Tey like me."

His father shook his head. "You and those toys…"

Matt's mother laughed. "Don't worry, John; eventually he'll grow out of this phase."

Matt tilted his head in confusion, wondering what a "phase" was, but he decided not to ask.

After dinner, Matt ran back to his room, glad to see the green carpet and the sky blue walls again. With a wide grin, he opened his toy chest.

"Hey guys, I'm back!" he said cheerfully.

The toys looked up at him with wide smiles.

"Welcome back, Matt," Fox spoke.

"Tanks, Fox," Matt chuckled as he picked up the fox. "Ready to play again?"

"Poyo!" Kirby called out.

Matt turned to face the puffball, and laughed. "Okay, okay, Kirby, you can come too."

"Poyo!" Kirby cried excitedly as he jumped up and down. Matt grabbed Kirby as well, and with the two toys in hand, walked towards his desk. He placed Kirby on one side, and Fox on the other, before moving the books and lamp around. With a smile, Matt held up three fingers.

"Tree...two...one…" Matt whispered as each finger went down by one count. Once all three of his fingers were down, he then called out, "GO!"

In Matt's mind, he could see the area turning dark, and Kirby and Fox sprang to life. Matt then imagined the area with a large castle in the background and a black-and-white checkered floor.

Kirby and Fox then ran towards each other, ready to fight for the rest of the night.

* * *

The sounds of Matt making fighting noises made his father look over at Matt's mother, a serious expression on his face.

"We need to talk about Matt," he whispered.

Matt's mother shrugged. "Why? He's fairly normal for his age."

"But he considers his toys as his "best friends". I don't think a kid would say that about a measly toy he owns."

She sighed, shaking her head. "He's only six, Johnathan. Let him play with his toys."

"But what if he continues to act like this when he's older? What should we do then, Maria?"

At that, Maria fell silent, thinking about what her husband had said. With a frown, she sighed again. "We'll have to discuss this with his therapist."

Johnathan nodded. "Good. There's a reason why he's being teased in the first place: he's not acting normal around other kids."

"Johnathan!"

Johnathan shook his head. "Well, it's true. Is there any other reason why he'd be bullied?"

Maria rolled her eyes at her husband's remark. "You're right...we'll talk to the therapist tomorrow after school."

Johnathan smiled and nodded. "By then we'll figure out what's wrong with our child."

After saying that, he heard Matt call out, "GAME SET! Te winner is...Kirby!"

Johnathan groaned and shook his head at his son's strange behavior. Meanwhile, Matt was having the time of his life, unaware that his parents were talking about him and his quirks.

* * *

 **Constructive criticism is welcomed!**

 **Beta reader: h34rt1lly, StarryNight101**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Night came faster than Matt had expected, and upon hearing the wolves howling and the owls hooting, the boy shook in fright. He gulped down a lump in his throat and his small legs trembled as he placed Kirby and Fox back in the toy chest.

Shaking his head, he was about to head to bed when he heard a voice calling out to him from his toy chest, "Matt?"

The boy turned to face it and after opening it, he saw Mario was staring up at him from inside, a concerned expression on his face.

"Something wrong-a?" Mario asked.

Matt hesitated before nodding. "Y-yeah…I'm afraid of a monster in my room."

Mario turned to face the other toys before they all huddled together to talk about Matt's fears. Matt could hear whispers from them before they turned to face the boy once more.

"Want one of us to sleep with you?" Samus offered.

Matt nodded slowly. "Y-yes…tat way you guys can fight te monster in te room…"

"Well…" Link spoke up. "Who do you want to sleep with?"

Matt hummed as he looked over his toys, deciding on which of them could sleep with him for the night. Of course, he wanted to sleep with all of them, but he didn't want to drop them on the floor during his sleep.

"Don't-a worry, Matt," Mario said. "We won't-a get our feelings-a hurt if you choose just one."

Matt nodded and he stuck his hand into the toy chest. Digging around in it, he pulled out Donkey Kong. "He's te strongest," Matt said. "So he'll sleep wit me for te night."

Mario and the other toys nodded. "Good night-a, Matt," Mario whispered as he and the other toys went to the corner of the chest and sat down.

"Night, Mario. Night, everyone," Matt whispered back as he closed the lid. He looked over at Donkey Kong, who was giving him a thumbs up, indicating that he would protect Matt for the night.

Matt smiled and as he laid down in his bed, said, "Tanks, DK. Good night…" Covering himself up with his blanket, he tucked himself and Donkey Kong in and he fell asleep.

As soon as Matt was fast asleep, the door opened slightly and revealed Johnathan looking inside the room. He had a frown on his face, and he let out a sigh.

"This kid needs help…soon…" he whispered to himself before closing the door quietly.

* * *

 _The next morning…_

The sun's rays that shone out from the window hit Matt's face, warming him. With a yawn, he looked around, searching for his Donkey Kong toy beside him in bed. He smiled when he spotted it and cheerfully greeted, "Good morning, DK."

Donkey Kong moved, and he smiled at the boy before making ape noises. Matt got out of bed with Donkey Kong in his hands and headed to the toy chest. Opening it, he saw the other toys moving around upon hearing Matt.

"Morning-a, Matt!" Mario greeted with a smile.

Matt chuckled. "Hey Mario and everyone," he greeted back. "Time for school! Who's coming wit me today?"

The toys chattered with excitement as they gathered in the middle of the chest. Matt smiled at how excited his friends were. He placed Donkey Kong back in the chest, and he picked out Link. "Your turn, Link," Matt said.

Link smiled back at him. The other toys cheered for the sword-wielding Hylian.

"See you guys soon!" Matt cried as he closed the chest.

"BYE MATT!" the other toys called back.

Matt grabbed his school bag and placed Link in one of the side pockets as he walked towards the kitchen. There, his mother was making toast with bacon, and his father was sitting at the table, waiting for breakfast.

"Hi Mommy and Daddy!" Matt greeted.

Maria and Johnathan turned to see their son. "Hi Matt," Maria greeted back.

Johnathan smiled, but upon seeing Link sitting in one of the pockets of Matt's school bag, he frowned. "You're taking your toy to school again?"

Matt nodded. "Uh huh. My friend is always tere for me during school!"

Johnathan sighed, rolling his eyes. Maria glared at her husband before she served the food. Matt stared down at his toast, a disgusted expression on his face upon seeing that the toast was cut in half.

"Mommy?" Matt spoke up. "My toasty is broken."

Maria stared at him, her eyebrow raised. "Broken?" she asked for clarification.

Matt nodded. "Yeah. I don't like it. I don't want to eat it if it's broken."

"Matt," Johnathan sighed, "eat your toast. It's not 'broken', it's just cut in half."

"But Daddy—"

"I'll fix it, Matt, don't worry," Maria spoke in a cheerful manner as she picked up his plate. She placed two more slices of bread in the toaster, and after a few minutes, she returned to the table. "Here you go, Matt. It's fixed!" she said as she placed the food in front of Matt.

"Tank you, Mommy," Matt said as he began to eat his breakfast.

Johnathan stared at his son, shaking his head. _Something's definitely wrong with this kid…_

The family ate in silence. As Matt was eating his bacon, his mother asked him, "Matt? We're bringing you to Mrs. Delilah today."

Matt tilted his head in confusion. "My terapist?"

"Therapist, Matt. _Ther-a-pist_ ," Johnathan corrected him.

"T-t-terapist?" Matt attempted to pronounce the word. Johnathan groaned, shaking his head.

"Yes, Matt. Your therapist," Maria replied with the emphasis on the last word.

"Okay," Matt nodded as he continued to eat his breakfast, unaware that there was a reason why they were bringing him to his therapist. _Are we gonna say 'hi' to her? Because I like her,_ he wondered in his head.

After breakfast, Matt brushed his teeth and hair, got dressed in his school clothes, and headed out the door to Delores Elementary.

* * *

 _At Delores Elementary…_

It was time for recess, and Matt excitedly ran out of the cafeteria to play outside. However, unlike the children who were playing on the swings and slides, he decided that he wanted to sit by himself under the oak tree that stood on the far end of the schoolyard. As he walked towards the tree, the breeze ruffled his hair, and every time his tennis shoes stepped on the grass, they made a _crunch_ sound. Matt looked up to see some clouds and the light blue sky from between the branches. He pulled out Link from his pocket, a smile on his face.

"What are we playing today, Matt?" Link asked.

Matt chuckled as he sat under the tree. He then grabbed some rocks and some dirt and placed them in Link's path. "We're gonna play 'Race to te Finish'!"

Link nodded, and he readied himself to run down the "racetrack".

In Matt's mind, he imagined that the dirt path was the trail that lead to the exit—which in reality was the line of grass that lay off in the distance—and the bugs were the Fighting Polygons. He also imagined that some of the rocks were explosives, and the other rocks were Bumpers floating in the air.

"GO!" Matt cried out.

Link ran down the highest platform, and he encountered a Fighting Polygon, which in reality, was a snail. Link, with his Master Sword, slashed at the Fighting Polygon. The snail, again in reality, toppled over after Matt, with Link in hand, pushed it down with a sword-swinging noise. Link then ran down to the next platform, where rolling explosives were coming towards him. With a smirk, Link jumped over them, knocking down another Fighting Polygon in the process (which was actually a fly in real life).

As Link raced down to the next platform, Matt's imagination suddenly shattered when a large foot stomped the dirt in front of Link. Matt snapped back into reality and he looked up to see two larger boys staring down at him. One of them had short, black hair, and he had buck teeth sticking out of his mouth. He wore a black shirt with a skull and crossbones in the front, and blue shorts. His green eyes stared down at Matt, a smirk on his face. The second boy, shorter and with brown hair, wore a blue shirt with stripes, and he wore brown pants. The shorter boy was looking at his older friend, his blue eyes staring down at Matt.

"Hey, weird kid!" the taller boy named Nick mocked.

Matt groaned. Link looked up at the boys, his sword up and ready, but Matt grabbed him. "Sorry, Link. Tis fight is not for you."

"Still talking to your stupid toys, huh?" the shorter boy named Skipper laughed.

"Tey are NOT stupid!" Matt cried. "Tey are my friends!"

"Oh yeah?" Skipper chuckled. He then forcefully grabbed Link, but Matt held on, not wanting to let go.

"Let my friend go!" Matt screamed.

"Shut up, big baby!" Nick taunted. "That's what you are, a big baby who plays with his toys!"

"Leave him alone!"

The two bullies turned to see a little girl standing behind them. The girl, who appeared to be the same age as Matt, had brown hair tied up in pigtails. She wore a blue skirt with a white shirt, and she also wore white sneakers. The little girl glared up at the two bullies bravely. "Stop being mean to him!"

Nick and Skipper turned to each other, with Nick sighing as he threw Link on the ground. "Who needs you?" Nick growled as he and his friend walked away.

Matt gasped upon seeing Link lying face-down on the dirt, and he picked the green-clad Hylian up, dusting him off with his hand.

"Are you okay?" the little girl asked, a concerned expression on her face—at least, that was what Matt thought. He was unable to identify what expression she had.

"Y-yeah…" Matt whispered in a shy voice. "Tank you…"

"I hate bullies," she commented. "Mommy said that they're mean and ugly. I don't like them!"

Matt smiled slightly. "Y-yeah…tey are."

"I'm Zoey," the girl introduced herself. "What's your name?"

Matt gulped. "Matt…"

"Nice to meet you, Matt!" Zoey spoke cheerfully. "If those meanies are bothering you again, let me know! I'll tell them off!"

Matt's smile grew wider from here. _She's…going to help me? Is she a…friend?_ "You're gonna be my friend?" Matt blurted out.

Zoey, despite the sudden question, nodded with a large grin. "Of course! I'll be your friend!"

Matt nodded, and his smile widened. "T-tank you, Zoey…"

They both heard a bell ringing from inside the school, indicating that recess was over. Zoey turned to face Matt. "I'll see you tomorrow, Matt!" she cried as she ran towards a group of kids, which Matt assumed were her classmates.

Matt watched her go, his smile still plastered on.

"So," Link joked. "You got a girlfriend?"

"Yeah," Matt said. "She's my friend, and she's a girl!"

Link, not wanting to correct him, nodded.

* * *

 _At Mrs. Delilah's Office…_

After school, Johnathan and Maria brought Matt to his therapist's small office. Matt grinned as he ran towards the brown couch and sat in it, excited to finally sit down on something that was soft and comfortable. He held Link close, chuckling as he turned to watch out the window. The smell of cookies wafted through the air, and Matt knew that his therapist had brought some freshly-baked cookies just for him during this session. As he and his parents waited, he stared at the wooden wall, thinking about the events that had happened at school.

 _I should tell my parents about my new friend,_ he thought.

Before he could tell his parents, however, a woman walked into the room with some cookies in a Ziploc bag. Her long, blond locks bounced as she walked towards her seat.

"Hello, little Matt," she greeted. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Jones."

"Hi, Mrs. Delilah!" Matt greeted happily. Mrs. Delilah smiled at how happy her patient was.

"My, my, aren't you happy today?" she said.

Matt nodded excitedly as he held Link close.

"I baked you some cookies. Chocolate chip, too," Mrs. Delilah said, digging in the bag and pulling out three cookies.

Matt smiled. "YAY! Tank you!" he cried as he grabbed the cookies and began eating.

Mrs. Delilah turned to face Matt's parents. "Would you like some?" she offered.

Johnathan and Maria shook their heads. "No thank you, ma'am," Maria declined.

"We're here to talk to you about what's wrong with our son," Johnathan said.

Mrs. Delilah turned her head to face Matt, who was placing one cookie in Link's mouth. In his mind, he imagined Link chomping down on the cookie and groaning.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Yes," Johnathan said. "He's been acting…strange lately. We talked about how he's different compared to the other kids, but he's been acting _real_ strange."

Mrs. Delilah grabbed her notepad and began writing down what Matt's father had said. She then asked, "Examples, please?"

"Well…" Johnathan began. "He talks to his toys and treats them like they're real people. Plus, he considers them his 'friends'. I don't think a normal kid would call a measly toy that."

Mrs. Delilah hummed as she wrote down what was being said. After a few seconds, she turned to Matt, who was moving Link around with his hand. To him, he imagined that Link was practicing his sword moves.

"Let's see, then…" Mrs. Delilah said as she pulled out four toys: a boy with a red cap, a man with a red helmet, another man with a green cap and blue overalls, and a pink puffball with a tuft of hair. "Matt," she called gently.

Matt turned to face his therapist, and his eyes lit up upon seeing the new toys.

"Let's demonstrate," Mrs. Delilah said as she placed the toys down. "Matt, what are these?"

Matt grinned widely as he walked over to the toys. "New friends!"

Johnathan and Maria turned to stare at each other. Mrs. Delilah hummed again as she wrote down some more notes. "What are their names?"

"I'll ask tem," Matt said.

"But their names are on the tags."

Matt ignored her as he asked the toys, "What are your names? I'm Matt. Tis is my friend, Link."

He moved Link's hand to make him wave. "Hi there," Link greeted.

The four toys, in Matt's mind, moved and they smiled at Matt.

"Hi! I'm Ness!" the boy with the cap introduced himself.

"I'm Captain Falcon!" the man with the helmet said proudly.

"I'm-a Luigi! I bet you heard of my big bro, Mario!" the man with the green cap said.

"Jigglypuff!" the puffball greeted.

"That's Jigglypuff," Ness pointed at her. "She's a Pokémon!"

"Nice to meet you four! Let's be friends!" Matt cried in excitement

Mrs. Delilah raised an eyebrow, and she took more notes on Matt's behavior.

Matt picked up the four toys and made them interact with Link, a smile on his face.

"He seems to…enjoy them," Mrs. Delilah figured.

"Why is he acting like this, though?" Johnathan asked.

"…" Mrs. Delilah said nothing, since she had _no_ idea what was wrong with him. With a sigh, she simply said, "ADHD."

"Excuse me?" Maria asked.

"ADHD. At least, according to some studies..." Mrs. Delilah said.

"So that's what he has?" Johnathan asked.

"I…think so."

"Think so?" Johnathan got up from the couch. "THINK SO?! You're a damn therapist! Why do you 'think so'?!"

Mrs. Delilah jumped at Johnathan's tone, and she shook her head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Jones, but that's all we know. You can ask other therapists; they would probably think so too."

Johnathan sighed. "All right…my apologies."

"Session's over," Mrs. Delilah announced, getting up from her chair.

"Thank you, Mrs. Delilah," Maria said as she got up from the couch as well.

"Come on, Matt," Johnathan spoke.

However, Matt shook his head. "I wanna keep my new friends."

Johnathan and Maria stared at each other. "Matt…" Johnathan sighed. "They're Mrs. Delilah's toys. You can't take them like tha—"

"You can keep them," Mrs. Delilah interrupted.

Johnathan stared at her, his mouth gaping open. "You can't be serious."

"Mr. Jones," Mrs. Delilah insisted. "He needs them for now. He'll outgrow it and find something else. Just give it time."

Johnathan groaned, but he knew that she was right. "All right. Matt? Say 'thank you for the toys'."

"Tank you for my new friends, Mrs. Delilah!" Matt cried.

Mrs Delilah giggled, ignoring the fact that Matt called the toys his friends. "It's fine, Matt. Have a wonderful day!"

The family members walked out of Mrs. Delilah's office, with Matt holding his four new "friends".

"I can't wait for you guys to meet my oter friends at home!" Matt said to the new toys.

"That sounds great!" Ness cried in excitement.

"Yes!" Captain Falcon called, saluting.

"Oh, you guys will like them," Link said with a laugh.

The people in the waiting room gave Matt's parents strange looks when Matt talked to his toys. Johnathan and Maria chuckled nervously before Johnathan spoke, "He really loves his toys."

* * *

 **To those who are unsure about why I chose ADHD instead of Asperger's here…this is set where nearly NO ONE knew what it was, and in my experience, I was misdiagnosed with ADHD. I hope you guys understand why I chose that diagnosis.**

 **Constructive criticism is welcomed!**

 **Beta readers: h34rt1lly**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The family was silent on the way home; Maria was driving the car, Johnathan was thinking about Matt's diagnosis, and Matt was playing with his new "friends". As Matt was having Ness fight against Captain Falcon, he remembered the events at school today that he had forgotten during the therapy session. With a wide grin, he piped up, "Mommy? Daddy?"

"Yes, Matt?" Maria answered.

"Someting happened at school today."

Johnathan rolled his eyes. "If you're going to complain about those bullies again, please don't."

Matt shook his head. "No, I made a new friend!"

Johnathan turned his head to face Matt, an eyebrow raised. "Really? Who is it?"

"Her name's Zoey! She helped me fight off tose meanies today! She's very nice!" Matt exclaimed.

Johnathan smiled at his son, realizing that Matt had _finally_ made a real friend. _Good…I'm glad that he made a friend that isn't a stupid toy._

"That's great, son!" Johnathan cried in excitement. "I'm so proud of you!"

Matt's smile grew much wider from there. "Tank you, Daddy. You should meet her!"

Johnathan chuckled. "Of course. We would love to meet her."

Maria giggled. "I'm so happy for you, Matt. Perhaps you could invite her to come over to play and sleep over one day?"

"Tat's a great idea!" Matt cried, his eyes lighting up. "I'll ask her tomorrow at school!"

Johnathan turned to face Maria, his eyebrows lowered in concern. He then turned to face his son, his eyebrows still drawn tightly together. "Matt…" he spoke. "Maybe you should wait until you get to know Zoey a little better. Besides, I'm sure that her parents don't want her to sleep over with a boy."

Matt was silent at this, his smile slowly turning into a frown.

"Johnathan!" Maria scolded. "Let his friend come over! He didn't have any friends before Zoey, and this is his chance to get to know her."

Johnathan sighed. "All right, all right. But we need permission from her parents first!"

Matt nodded before clapping. "YAAAAAY! Tank you, Mommy and Daddy!"

Johnathan and Maria turned to each other and smiled, both of them happy to see their son acting somewhat "normal".

* * *

The family returned to their small home, and Matt immediately ran to his room with his new toys, and Link, in his arms.

"Mario! Everyone!" Matt cried as he opened the lid of the toy chest. The toys gathered in the middle, grinning.

"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu greeted.

"Hi Pikachu! Hi everyone!" Matt greeted back.

"Welcome-a back, Matt!" Mario said. Upon seeing one of the new toys, he gasped, his eyes widened with joy. "Luigi?!"

Luigi moved to face Mario. "Mario?! Is-a that you?!" he gasped.

Matt chuckled. "You and Mario are broters, right?" he asked Luigi.

Luigi nodded. "Yeah! Lemme see him!"

Matt placed Luigi down in the toy chest, and the green-clad man ran towards Mario. The two hugged each other tightly, crying out how happy they were to see each other.

Matt's smile grew bigger upon seeing how happy his toys were. "Here are my new friends!" Matt said as he placed Ness, Captain Falcon, and Jigglypuff in the chest. "Tis is Ness, Captain Falcon, and Jigglypuff."

"HI!" the other toys greeted.

"Hey there!" Ness waved. "We're so glad to be a part of this family!"

"Yup!" Matt agreed. "Hey, let's play!"

The toys looked up at Matt and cheered. "YAY!"

"What-a should we play?" Luigi asked.

Matt hummed as he looked around the room. Upon seeing the windowsill, he gasped. "How about…a four player match on Mushroom Kingdom?"

"Good idea!" Fox agreed.

"So who's going to play?" Matt asked.

The toys began to chatter with excitement, wondering who would be chosen to play.

Matt laughed as he dug around the chest without looking. He then grabbed four of the toys: Ness, Kirby, Yoshi, and Pikachu.

"Looks like it's them!" Matt cried.

"Let's play!" Ness shouted.

Matt nodded as he placed the four on the windowsill. In his mind, he imagined two platforms hanging by strings, some Goombas and Koopas in the background, and two more platforms that were larger and made of solid bricks that reach the end of the "stage". In the middle was a large pit, and there was a pipe with a Piranha Plant on one platform.

Matt held up three fingers. "Tree…two…one…" After the countdown, he cried out, "GO!"

He imagined the toys springing to life, and they began fighting on the Mushroom Kingdom stage. Matt was smiling the whole time as he played with his toys until night came.

* * *

 _The next day, at Delores Elementary…_

Matt brought Ness to school with him for today, and he ran towards the schoolyard at recess time. With a large grin, he looked around for his new friend, Zoey. However, upon looking every corner, he could not find her on the schoolyard.

He sighed, and his grin turned into a frown as he sat down under the same tree from yesterday. With another sigh, he looked down at Ness.

"What's wrong, Matt?" Ness asked.

"I can't find my friend anywhere…" Matt answered.

Ness frowned. "Who's your friend?"

"Her name's Zoey. She helped me fight off tose mean bullies yesterday."

Ness placed his small hand on his chin. "Hmm…is she absent from school today?"

"I-I dunno—"

"Hi Matt!"

Matt didn't recognize the voice, and he didn't recognize the girl when he looked up either. Ness pointed at her and asked, "Is that the girl?"

Matt studied her closely, and upon recognizing the pigtails, he smiled. "It's Zoey!"

Zoey stopped in front of Matt, giggling. "Hi Matt! Are those meanies still hurting you?"

Matt shook his head. "N-not really…" he stuttered.

"That's good," Zoey spoke. "Hey, what's that?" She pointed at Ness in Matt's hand.

Matt looked down at his toy, and he proudly introduced, "Tis is my friend, Ness!"

Zoey stared at him with an eyebrow raised, but she nodded. "Okay! Hi Ness!"

Matt made Ness wave at her, but Ness said nothing.

"Say, wanna play? I got toys as well!" Zoey offered.

Matt's eyes lit up upon hearing the word "toys". "You got toys, too?! Sure!"

Zoey took Matt's hand, which made the young boy gulp. _We're…holding hands?_ "Are you my girlfriend?" he blurted out.

The other kids overheard, and they turned to look at them. Before the two knew it, the other children busted out laughing.

Zoey blushed in embarrassment. "N-not really…we're just friends."

"But…" Matt whispered. "Does girlfriend mean a friend who's a girl?"

Zoey laughed. "No, of course not! It means someone you really love, and you want to marry them!"

"L-love?" Matt gulped, thinking about what she had said. _Love? Like how I love Mommy and Daddy? Does that mean that I want to marry them?_

Ignoring the laughter from the other children, Zoey brought Matt to the other side of the schoolyard. There, in a sandbox, were some toys.

Matt's eyes grew wide at seeing how many toys she had out. "Wow…" he gasped.

Zoey giggled. "You like them?"

"Yeah! Tey are all so cool!" Matt cried as he ran towards the sandbox. Upon examining the toys, he grinned. "I should show Ness to tem!"

Zoey's eyebrows lowered, taken aback at how…strange Matt was. "Okay, sure," Zoey said.

Matt nodded as he kneeled down to Zoey's toys. "Hi! I'm Matt! Tis is Ness!"

Ness waved. "Hi there!"

One toy, a woman with a pink dress, giggled. "Hi there! I'm Peach! This is Zelda!" she pointed at another woman in another pink dress.

Zelda nodded, a small smile on her face.

"Peach? Zelda?" Matt repeated. "Nice to meet you!"

Matt was so interested in the toys that he didn't notice Zoey sitting right in front of him. "You like them?"

Matt nodded. "Yeah! Tey are cool and nice! Where did you get them?"

Zoey tilted her head as she hummed, thinking about where she had gotten them. "…Smash R' Us, I think."

"Oh cool!" Matt cried. "I'll ask my mommy and daddy for them!"

Zoey's expression changed into a frown, tears welling up in her eyes. However, she kept them in check as she gulped and wiped away her tears.

Matt, however, was oblivious to her feelings as he grabbed Zelda and had her talk to Ness. "You got a lot of friends!" Matt commented. "Are you rich?"

"Uh…" Zoey had no idea what to say to that. To her, Matt seemed a bit _too_ forward when it came to personal questions. "…You can say that. My Mommy…" She gulped again. "…And Daddy give me toys all the time if I'm good."

"Cool! I wish I was rich! Ten I'll have all te friends I want!" Matt exclaimed with a nod.

Zoey smiled slightly, despite how she was feeling at the moment. "So um…" She tried to think of something to say, but Matt piped up before she could say anything else.

"Oh yeah!" Matt realized. "I almost forgot to ask you!"

Zoey raised her eyebrow even higher. "Huh?"

"Wanna come over tis weekend?" Matt offered.

Zoey's eyes widened at the sudden offer. She placed her hand on her chin, humming as she thought it over. _Should I? He's a little weird, and I dunno if Mommy would like him, but…_ Not wanting to hurt Matt's feelings, she came to a decision. "Okay."

"YAAAAAAY!" Matt exclaimed as he jumped up and down with excitement. "I can't wait!"

Zoey giggled. _He's weird…but he's very nice._

* * *

 _A few days later, on a weekend…_

Matt opened his toy chest and took out all of his toys. Looking around, he saw his brown, wooden dresser sitting beside his bed. He then placed the toys on top of the dresser in neat rows, making them an impressive display.

"Matt?" Mario questioned.

"Yeah, Mario?"

"What-a are you doing?"

Matt smiled at his friend. "My friend's coming over today!"

"Yeah," Ness added. "Matt made a nice friend the other day, so she's coming over to play!"

"Ooooooh," the other toys gasped.

Matt nodded at Ness' statement. "Yeah! Her name's Zoey!"

"Nice!" Mario said, giving him a thumbs-up.

Matt chuckled.

Once he was done placing the toys in order, he heard a doorbell ringing. "Tat's her!" Matt screamed as he ran towards the front door. When he opened it, he smiled upon seeing Zoey with her school bag on her back, though her usual skirt had been replaced with pink pants.

"Hi Matt!" Zoey greeted. "I'm here to play!"

Johnathan and Maria walked towards the door, and they smiled at the girl.

"Why hello, Ms. Zoey," Maria greeted. "Nice to meet you!"

"Hi there. Welcome to the Jones' home," Johnathan also greeted.

Matt turned to his parents. "She's rich! She has a lot of toys!"

Johnathan raised an eyebrow at Matt's announcement, but he shrugged. "That's nice."

"Hey Zoey," Matt offered. "Let's go check out my room!"

Zoey grinned. "Okay!"

Matt grabbed her hand and they both ran to his room. The two could hear Matt's parents chuckling before they heard Maria shout, "Matt! Leave your door open!"

In his mind, he wondered why they wanted him to leave his door open, but knowing that he would get in trouble if he didn't listen, he left it open when they entered his room.

Zoey's eyes lit up upon seeing the toys neatly placed in rows on the dresser. "Ooooooh. Are they all of your toys?"

"Yeah!" Matt answered. "Tey're all of my friends!"

Zoey giggled. "Let's play!"

With that, Matt grabbed the Yoshi toy as Zoey pulled out her Zelda toy from her bag. They then started to play, both of them laughing.

* * *

Johnathan heard laughter coming from Matt's room, and he smiled. "I'm glad that he finally made a friend that's not a toy."

Maria smiled, looking up from the counter, where she was making sandwiches. "Yes…hopefully that will help him outgrow his…toy 'friends'."

Johnathan turned to face his wife. "Hopefully? I would think it's actually GUARANTEED that he'll outgrow them."

Maria nodded. "I guess you're right. Though soon he'll be interested in other stuff like cars, video games…"

Johnathan laughed. "True. Though at least those are better than those damn toys."

Maria chuckled, rolling her eyes at her husband's comment before turning back to making the food.

However, Johnathan was still worried that Matt would stay this way, even in his adult years…

* * *

 **Constructive criticism is welcomed!**

 **Beta reader: h34rt1lly**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Sorry for no chapter for this one. I'm glad that you guys stuck around though, heh. I've been busy with Thanksgiving, plus I'm SO hyped for Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon.**

 **But now I'm here! :)**

 **Anyway…ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

 _Five years later…_

Matt had grown up quite well, and was now eleven years old; he still kept his short, blond hair, but he was now taller. However, his playful, childish mind remained. He continued to play with his toys and talked to them (though not in public to avoid embarrassing himself), much to his father's chagrin and his mother's concern.

In fact, he loved his toys so much, that when he talked about them to his other relatives, they actually gave him more for Christmas. Some of them were also from Smash 'R Us, which is where Zoey had said she'd gotten hers.

Now, Matt was having Zelda fight against Pichu on his windowsill. In his mind, he pretended that it was actually a new "stage" called "Fountain of Dreams"; in the middle of the fountain, water gushed up and flew down onto the floor. The sounds of splashing water resonated around the two fighters as they ran around in it. One of them, a small electric mouse that looked similar to a Pikachu, jumped on the highest platform in the middle. The other fighter, Zelda, jumped on one of the lower platforms to chase after the mouse named Pichu.

When Pichu used his Thunder to knock Zelda into oblivion, Matt called out, "GAME! The winner is Pichu!"

Pichu jumped with joy, a smile on his face. Zelda was in the background, clapping for the small Electric type.

Matt grabbed the two toys as he walked towards his toy chest.

"That was fun, Matt!" Zelda cried.

Matt nodded. "Yeah! I enjoy playing with you guys!"

Before he went to put the two away, he heard Pichu crying. Matt turned to see that his left hand was shaking the baby Pokemon uncontrollably.

He gasped. "AH! I'm so sorry, Pichu!" he cried as he quickly placed Pichu in the chest. The Pokémon was dizzy from being shaken up, swirls on his eyes.

Zelda turned to face Matt. "Why did you do that?"

"I-I don't know," Matt shrugged. "I couldn't help it."

Zelda raised an eyebrow. "I see…that is strange though. Why does your right hand stay perfectly still, but your left hand is crazy?"

Matt then felt an idea hit him. "Crazy? As in Crazy Hand?"

Zelda nodded. "Yes. That hand is pretty crazy."

Matt smiled widely. "Hey, that's a great idea! What if Master Hand had a brother named Crazy Hand?"

Zelda's expression mirrored Matt's. "That sounds like fun. Perhaps next time we play, you could have Crazy Hand fight one of us."

"Yeah!" Matt cried excitedly, not realizing that his voice was at a loud volume.

He heard a knock on his door, and his father's voice called out, "Your indoor voice, Matt!"

"Sorry, Dad!" Matt called back. He swore that he heard his father sighing over his "strange" behavior.

Matt turned to his toy chest, where the other toys were moving around, chattering animatedly.

"So, who's coming with me to school today?" Matt asked his toys.

"HEY!"

Matt turned his head to face Falco Lombardi. "What 'bout me?! I haven't been used at ALL."

Matt laughed. "Sorry, Falco. I'll bring you today if that makes you feel any better."

"Good," Falco spoke with a huff. "I mean, what's the point of getting me when you don't use me?!"

"FALCO!" the Ice Climbers simultaneously cried.

"Sorry, kids," Falco shrugged them off as Matt grabbed him. The young boy then placed the avian in one pocket of his bag before walking out of his room.

When he headed to the kitchen, he realized that there was no smell of food in the air. Tilting his head, he wandered over to the table to see his mother and father sitting at it.

"Ah, Matt! You're up!" Maria noted with a smile.

"Hey, Mom and Da—" Before he could get another word out, Matt tripped on nothing in particular and he fell to the ground.

Maria jumped up to help him, but Johnathan groaned as he shook his head. "How did you even trip on _air_?" he asked.

"I-I don't know…I'm sorry, Dad," Matt whispered.

"Johnathan," Maria scolded her husband. "He's just clumsy."

"But how can he be _that_ clumsy? I mean, he tripped on air!"

Maria sighed.

Matt looked around the kitchen, wondering why his mother wasn't cooking breakfast. "Uh…Mom?"

"Yes, honey?"

"Why aren't you cooking breakfast?"

Maria laughed. "Oh, that? Well, we're going on a vacation tomorrow."

Matt tilted his head. "But Mom…don't I have school? It's Friday!"

"You do, but you're not going today. We'll be packing for our vacation. Now, go brush your teeth and hair."

Matt's eyes widened at this. _No…school? And brushing my hair and teeth…without eating breakfast?!_

Matt's body began to shake, and he hummed a strange tune to himself. Sweat formed on his face, and he began to run around the kitchen, crying out.

"Matt?!" Maria cried out, wondering what in the world was going on.

Johnathan looked up from his paper, and he sighed. "MATT! Stop acting like a brat! You're supposed to be _happy_ that you're off of school today!"

However, Matt continued to run around the kitchen until Maria grabbed him, tucking him into a hug.

"Matt…shhh…" Maria whispered as she rocked him slightly.

Matt was still shaking.

"What the hell's wrong with this damn kid?!" Johnathan growled.

"Johnathan!" Maria shouted. "He must be upset that he's not going to see his friend today."

"N-no…" Matt whimpered. "I…I wanted to go back to my routine."

Maria stared down at him, an eyebrow raised. "…Routine?"

Matt nodded. "Y-yeah…I like it better when we eat breakfast together, brush my teeth and hair—"

"Matt…" Johnathan sighed. "All that screaming and running around over your 'routine' being screwed up? I mean hell, come on! Your routine's going to be screwed up every now and then. Get over it."

"S-screwed up?!" Matt gasped.

Maria hushed him gently, and glared at Johnathan for what he had said. "Matt...I'm so sorry. We wanted it to be a surprise. We didn't know that it would get you this upset."

Matt nodded, sniffling as he was about to cry.

Johnathan groaned as he got up from his seat and left the kitchen.

* * *

A few hours after Matt had calmed down, placated by going through his "routine", he returned to his room. He placed Falco back in the toy chest with his "crazy" left hand.

"So uh…" Falco asked. "Aren't you going to school?"

"No, I don't think so," Matt sighed, not wanting to think about what had happened this morning. "I have to stay home to get ready for a trip."

"Trip?!" the other toys cried out.

Matt nodded. "Yeah. I don't know if I'll be okay though."

"Oh, come on, Matt," Young Link spoke up. "It'll be fun for you! I'm sure of it!"

Matt nodded. "Y-yeah…I guess so…"

"Hey!" Peach cried out. "How about we play a bit?"

Matt smiled. "Yeah! That's a good idea! Then I'll show off Crazy Hand!"

"Then who would you choose to fight against him?" Mewtwo asked.

"Hmm…" Matt hummed as he looked over his toys. He then moved his hand around to grab Mr. Game and Watch.

"How about him?" he said.

Mr. Game and Watch beeped loudly, waving at him.

"Great-a idea!" Mario cried. "Have fun!"

"Thanks, Mario!" Matt chuckled as he closed the lid.

He then walked to his bed, kneeling down beside it. Placing Mr. Game and Watch on the bed, he imagined that the area was Final Destination, except that the platform was now purple and pink.

Then, the 2D figure heard maniacal laughter from Crazy Hand and sinister laughter from Master Hand.

"Hello, Game and Watch," Master Hand mocked. "It's time to meet your maker! This time, I brought my brother with me!"

He pointed at Crazy Hand, who was shaking uncontrollably.

"Now, let's fight to the death!"

Mr. Game and Watch jumped up towards Crazy Hand, ready to fight.

* * *

Johnathan groaned upon hearing his son playing in his room, and he turned to face Maria. "I don't think this kid has ADHD."

Maria stared at him as she was making a salad. "Really? Why is that? Mrs. Delilah said that she was certain that he had it."

"I highly doubt it," Johnathan spoke.

Maria turned to him. "What do you—"

"I looked up some stuff about this ADHD, and most of the "symptoms" he's supposed to have...he doesn't have them."

Maria tilted her head, thinking about what he had said. "…Are you sure?"

"I'm damn well sure," Johnathan insisted. "We need to talk to Mrs. Delilah again when we get back from our trip."

"I…okay."

Meanwhile, Mr. Game and Watch had defeated both of the hands, and he beeped excitedly.

"YAY! Great job, Game and Watch!" Matt cried.

Johnathan groaned when he heard Matt's voice, shaking his head as he walked to the living room to read his newspaper.

He still couldn't stop thinking of the fact that Matt had something else that wasn't ADHD, and he wanted to find out what it was that was making his son act like a "strange" child so he could fix him.

* * *

 **Sorry for how bad this is or if it's inaccurate. XD I kinda winged it at this point. But the next chapter, hopefully it'll be better.**

 **Constructive criticism is welcomed!**

 **Beta reader: h34rt1lly**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Once the family packed their bags (and Matt begging his parents to let him bring some of his toys), they drove to the airport, parked their car in long-term, and walked inside.

Maria and Johnathan traveled through the airport with ease. Matt figured his parents must've been there before, and followed after them. However, he was nowhere near as comfortable as they were; he was shaking all over, and frequently had to gulp down the lump in his throat that kept coming back. Sweat formed on his face, but he kept his composure, knowing that his father would berate him if he had another fit.

Johnathan turned to see Matt looking around frantically, and he sighed. "Son, please don't embarrass yourself," he reprimanded him.

"I-I won't," Matt stuttered.

Maria turned to see Matt acting nervous and jittery. "Matt? Are you okay?" she asked.

"I-I'm okay. Just…nervous."

"It's your first time riding on an airplane. I can see why you'd be nervous," Maria smiled as she kissed Matt on the forehead.

"Uh…" Matt gulped as he looked at his school bag.

"What's wrong now?" Johnathan groaned.

"Can I pull out my to—"

"NO."

Matt jumped at his father's harsh decision. "But…they make me feel better."

Johnathan let out a loud groan, rolling his eyes. "Fine. But just _one_ toy!"

Matt smiled widely. "Thanks, Dad!" he cried excitedly as he took his bag off of his shoulders and unzipped it. Inside, all of his toys were waiting. They all looked up at him, concern on their faces.

The boy could hear Bowser groaning. "What do you want, boy?" he growled.

Matt, knowing that he was in public, talked to his toys in his mind instead. _I'm nervous getting on the plane, so I need one of you._

"Why just one?" Mewtwo asked.

 _Dad said only one. So which one of you wants to be there with me?_

The toys turned to each other before chattering away. Matt raised an eyebrow, wondering what they were talking about. That was when Link pushed Ganondorf forward. The King of Darkness yelped after being pushed.

"HEY!" Ganondorf cried out. "What's the big idea?!"

Link laughed. "It's your turn, Ganon."

Ganondorf groaned. Matt smiled as he grabbed him and pulled him out of his bag.

 _Thanks, Ganondorf,_ he thought, his smile remaining in place.

"Just don't lose me," Ganondorf growled.

Matt chuckled softly before zipping up his bag. He then slung it across his shoulders and ran towards his parents.

"Did you choose a toy?" Johnathan asked, his voice filled with annoyance.

"Yep!" Matt confirmed.

Johnathan shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Okay then. Let's get going."

The three of them headed for the security checkpoint with their tickets, and once they'd made it through the line, they headed for their terminal. Their plane wasn't scheduled to take off for at least another thirty minutes, so Maria and Johnathan found seats in the corner of the waiting area; much to Johnathan's annoyance, Matt pulled out a few of his toys and played with them to pass the time.

A little while later, the stewardess announced that their seats were boarding, so they jumped on the plane and sooner than Matt thought, they were headed to a place he had never heard of before.

Tokyo.

* * *

Matt panicked when he heard the roar of the plane engine, and he felt tears springing from his eyes. He held Ganondorf tightly, shaking. He wanted to scream in panic, and wanted to beg to be back on solid ground, but he knew that his father would be angry at him if he said something. To calm himself down, he played with his toy. While he was making some fighting noises to raise the intensity of the fight, some of the passengers stared at him. Johnathan just shrugged and said that he loved his toys.

As Matt was having Ganondorf fight against both Master and Crazy Hands, he heard a booming voice from the intercom, startling him to the point of holding his ears.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking. We're anticipating high winds tonight, so our flight time to Tokyo will likely be shorter than expected. The flight time is approximately eleven hours, and twenty-four minutes. We'll check in with you again once we're close to landing. Enjoy your flight, and thank you for flying Delta."

Matt held his ears tightly as he whimpered, which prompted Johnathan to sigh.

"Matt," Johnathan whispered. "It's not _that_ loud."

"Yeah, it is," Matt insisted.

"Ugh…" Johnathan rolled his eyes before going back to sipping his coffee.

Matt could feel his ears ringing from the loud noise. Eventually, once the coast was clear, he removed his hands from his ears and looked at his toy.

"Scared ya, huh?" Ganondorf chuckled.

 _Not really. It's just very loud,_ Matt told him with his mind.

"Perhaps sleep it off? That could help," Ganondorf suggested.

Matt nodded. _Great idea._

With that, Matt moved slightly in his seat to find a comfortable position to sleep in. When he felt that the position was comfortable, he fell asleep.

* * *

A few hours after Matt woke up, the announcement system announced again. "Ladies and gentleman: we are preparing for our descent into Tokyo's Narita Airport. The time is 4:43 PM, and the weather is 67 degrees, and sunny. If you are transferring flights, please speak to the attendant at the desk about your terminal. Once again, thank you for flying Delta, and we hope you enjoy your time in Tokyo."

Once the pilot was finished speaking, Matt removed his hands from his ears. The roar from the engine intensified briefly, causing him to panic. Roughly fifteen minutes later, the rough bump of the plane's tires hitting the tarmac made Matt jump in his seat, and he whimpered. Soon after, the stewardesses directed the passengers to get their belongings, and Matt sat up, curious as to what was going on.

The family walked out into the terminal, and Matt felt more nervous when he heard the loud chatter of the crowd around them. He gulped, sweat still forming on his face. However, he tried to keep his composure as he watched his family convert their money to Japanese Yen at the counter. After they'd grabbed their luggage, a bright neon sign to his right caught Matt's attention. Without waiting for his parents, he raced off towards the sign.

That was a big mistake, Matt realized.

As soon as Matt left his parents' sides, he was lost in the crowd. With this many people in the airport, it was overwhelming, and the sounds of their conversations nearly deafened Matt. Not only that, but there were announcements from the intercom blaring every few minutes, the sound of shops and stands talking about their business, all in a language that Matt didn't understand. Bright monitors advertised wares to tourists, and the flashing images caused Matt to feel disoriented. He held his ears tightly as he squeezed his eyes shut, still holding Ganondorf in one hand.

Maria and Johnathan glanced around, panicking upon realizing that their son had gone missing. "MATT?!" Maria screamed.

Matt's body shook, tears springing from his eyes. Sweat formed on his forehead, and he felt like he was about to scream from the sensory overload. A few minutes later, his parents emerged from the crowd and, relieved, Maria embraced her son tightly.

However, Johnathan facepalmed, knowing what was going to happen when he looked at his son's face. "Not again…"

As soon as the words came out, Matt freaked out. He screamed, which prompted some of the people passing by to stare at him. Matt then tore away from his mom and ran through the crowds, straight outside and into the street, where thankfully, none of the taxis hit him.

"MATT!" Johnathan shouted, his face red from a mix of anger and embarrassment. Maria gasped, placing her hands on her mouth upon seeing Matt not noticing the danger he was putting himself into. The two then ran after Matt, who was pushing away some of the people to run back to the airport and into the store.

"I-it's too much!" Matt screamed at the top of his lungs, attracting more stares. Some of the people whispered under their breath in Japanese, _Crazy American…_

Matt then sprinted down the hallway, heading for some of the restaurants close by. He hid under a table at the first one he passed, shaking and humming a strange tune as he tried to calm himself down. He began rocking as he held his head.

"MATT!"

Matt gulped, knowing that he was in deep trouble with his father. He slowly looked up from the table, and upon seeing his father's angry gaze, he looked away.

"WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?! YOU COULD'VE BEEN HIT AND KILLED!" Johnathan screamed at the top of his lungs.

This got Matt more upset, and he sobbed.

"JOHNATHAN!" Maria shouted. "He's just upset."

"Then what in the world _got_ him upset?!"

Maria stared at him before her gaze switched to Matt, who was holding his Ganondorf toy close to him. "I…"

"Kon'nichiwa!"

The three heard a voice, and Maria and Johnathan turned to see a thin man behind them. The man, who appeared to be in his late 30's, gave the three a welcoming smile. He adjusted his round glasses that sat in front of his eyes.

"Um…sorry about that," Johnathan blushed in embarrassment. "Our son is such a brat sometimes…"

"JOHNATHAN!" Maria reprimanded.

The man chuckled before speaking in Japanese.

Matt tilted his head, humming. "Uh…what is he saying?" Matt asked.

Once the man was done speaking, Johnathan turned to face Matt. "I studied Japanese back in the day. I know what he's saying. 'Oh, do not worry! He was probably not used to his surroundings!'"

"Oh…" Matt gulped as he slowly climbed out from underneath the table.

That was when the man noticed his Ganondorf toy. He spoke in Japanese again, confusing Matt even more.

"'Oh! I see that you like Zeruda no Densetsu.' …whatever that is." Johnathan translated.

The man pointed at the toy Matt held in his arms. Matt looked down at the toy, and he grinned widely. "I think he meant 'Legend of Zelda'!"

The man nodded with his smile still plastered on. He then motioned for Matt to follow him.

Matt turned to his parents. "I don't know you, mister. I don't know if I should go with you."

Maria and Johnathan glanced at each other. Maria then spoke to the man, "It's fine if he goes, but we're coming with him."

The man nodded in understanding before walking towards another part of the airport—where more shops were—with the family following after him.

When they entered one small store, Matt's eyes lit up upon seeing many toys and action figures; some of them he'd never seen before, such as some characters from something called "anime". However, he saw many video game characters that he recognized, such as Mario and some Pokémon.

"Wow…it's like I'm in toy heaven!" Matt cried.

The man chuckled as he led the three towards one shelf.

That was when Matt grew fascinated. On one of the shelves were two toys. One of them wore a tiara, and wore blue armor that matched his hair. The other one had red hair, but he also wore blue armor. Both of them were gripping their swords tightly.

"Wow…" Matt gasped. "Who are they?"

The man smiled. "Marusu and Roi."

"Who?"

Johnathan groaned. "I think he meant something along the lines of "Marth and Roy"."

"Ooooooh," Matt spoke with a large smile. "Where are they from?"

"Faiā Emuburemu," the man simply stated.

"Fire Emblem," Johnathan translated.

"Are they from a video game?" Matt asked.

The man nodded.

"Cool…" Matt gasped, staring at the toys.

Ganondorf moved and spoke, "Hey! If you're so interested in them, why not buy them?!"

 _Great idea!_ Matt smiled before turning to the man. "I want them."

Johnathan groaned loudly. "Matt, don't you have enough toys already?"

"But…"

"Oh come on, Johnathan," Maria said. "He could keep them as a souvenir for our trip."

Johnathan stared at his wife before turning his gaze to Matt, and he sighed also. "Fine. How much?"

"800 Yen," the man spoke.

"Wow…that's a lot," Matt commented.

"Not really," Johnathan said as he paid for the toys. The man then grabbed the two toys and gave them to Matt, who rocked on his feet in excitement.

"Thank you, Mr.!" he cried.

Once the three finally left the airport, they took a taxi to their hotel and checked in. They'd passed a few restaurants and after dropping off their things to their room, they headed back out and spent time together eating sushi at a restaurant. Although Matt wanted a burger and fries 'like he always liked in restaurants', he resorted to eating sushi upon realizing that burgers weren't on the menu.

As the three ate, he heard two Japanese voices talking in his bag…at least, Matt thought it was Japanese. He looked down at his bag, and he zipped it open. Inside, his two new toys were talking to the others in Japanese.

 _Uh…can you talk in English?_ Matt thought.

Marth and Roy turned, and they nodded. "Of course we do. We just need to learn a bit more about this 'English'," Marth was the one to speak. Despite his feminine figure, he had a deep voice.

Matt chuckled softly as he pulled out Marth and Roy, hugging them tightly. _Welcome to the family, you guys. I'm sure both of you would like it._

"Matt."

Matt turned his head to face his father.

"No toys on the table. That's rude."

"Sorry," Matt apologized as he placed Marth and Roy back in his bag. _I'll play with you guys later._

"Farewell," Roy spoke with a small smile.

* * *

A few days later, it was time to go home. To Johnathan and Maria's surprise, Matt didn't want to leave. However, they explained to him that they couldn't stay here forever, due to how expensive everything in Japan was. Plus, they had their lives at home.

Matt was disappointed that they couldn't live in Tokyo, but he was also satisfied with his trip. During the plane ride back, he moved Marth and Roy around with his hands, pretending that they were fighting on Fox's Great Fox ship.

Again, people stared at him when he made some fighting noises, and by then, Johnathan gave up on explaining why his son was acting this way.

* * *

 **Yeah, I would put some Japanese for you instead of translating it, but I'm too lazy to learn another language. XD**

 **Constructive criticism is welcomed!**

 ** **Beta reader: h34rt1lly****


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

After they returned home from the trip, the next day, Matt went back to school. This time, he brought Marth with him to show to Zoey. A smile was on his face the whole time he searched for his best friend.

Once he rounded the corner, something hit him in the face and splattered all over his clothes. Matt cried out in surprise, and he wiped off what appeared to be mud. He looked down at his hand, only to get hit in the face by more mud.

"Hey loser!"

Matt groaned. _Not these guys again…_

Matt continued on his way, trying to ignore them, until Skipper and Nick caught up to him. "Not gonna say anything, huh?" Skipper mocked.

Matt ignored him, which angered the two bullies.

"HEY! We're talkin' to ya!" Nick yelled.

Matt cringed at how loud his voice was, but he kept on going. Before he could walk away, however, Nick pushed him to the ground, and Matt hit more mud face-first. He gagged as the mushy dirt got in his mouth, and the bitter, earthy taste hit his tongue.

"That's whatcha get for ignoring us!" Skipper laughed before the two boys walked off.

Matt got up from the ground, with mud all over his face.

"Are you okay, Sir Matt?"

Matt looked down at Marth, and he nodded. _I-I'm fine._

"Have they been bothering you lately?"

 _Since first grade, actually._

Marth gritted his teeth, and his face turned red from anger. "If they ever hurt you again, I will gut them with my Falchion!"

Matt shook his head. _No no, you're just a toy. Toys can't hurt people._

"Matt!"

Matt turned to see Zoey running towards him. When she saw his face covered with mud, she raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

Matt nodded, attempting to wipe off the mud from his face. Zoey took off her bag and dug around in the side pocket. She pulled out a white handkerchief and gave it to him. "Here."

"Th-thanks…" Matt whispered as he wiped off the mud.

"Did anyone hurt you? Or were you playing in the mud?" Zoey asked.

Matt gulped. "Those bullies were…they were bullying me."

"Again?!" Zoey gasped, her hands balled up into fists. "If I see them again, I—"

"D-don't worry about it, Zoey," Matt said.

Zoey sighed. "I'm sorry, Matt. If I had come sooner, I would've stopped them."

"Don't worry," Matt repeated as he wiped the last of the mud off of his face.

"By the way, I've been meaning to introduce two of my friends to you!" Zoey spoke in an excited voice.

Matt cringed at the volume of her voice. Zoey placed her hands over her mouth. "Sorry. Was I too loud for you?"

Matt nodded.

Zoey spoke again, this time in a lower voice. "You should meet them. I'm sure you three would be good friends!"

Matt smiled widely at this. _New friends?!_ "That would be awesome, Zoey."

Zoey giggled as she grabbed Matt's hand. "C'mon, let's go!"

Zoey dragged Matt toward two boys. One of them, who appeared to have red hair, was shorter than the other boy beside him. He wore a green shirt with a circle in the middle, paired with blue jeans. The other boy had black hair, and he wore a blue shirt with an "S" in the middle, and red shorts.

The two boys turned to see Zoey and Matt approaching them. "Oh hey, Zoey!" the boy with the black hair greeted.

"Yo," was all the other boy said.

"Hey there, Logan and Peter!" Zoey greeted back. "This is my best friend, Matt!" She turned to face Matt. "Matt, this is Logan—" She pointed at the boy with red hair. "—and this is Peter." She pointed at the other boy with black hair.

"Hi…" Matt whispered nervously.

"Matt, huh?" Peter smiled and waved. "Nice to meet you!"

Matt stared down at his feet, not making eye contact with either of the boys.

"So, what's up, Matt?" Logan asked, staring at Matt.

"Uh…I'm fine. Just got back from a trip to Tokyo."

"Oooooh, Tokyo?!" Zoey gasped. "Is that why you weren't at school on Friday and Monday?"

"Yeah," Matt nodded.

"What kind of stuff did you get?" Zoey asked.

Matt grabbed his bag and pulled out Marth. "I got Marth from a shop there."

Peter and Logan's eyes widened, and grins formed on their faces. "You got toys, too?" Peter asked.

Matt's eyes lit up upon realizing that they might have toys. "Yeah! What about you?"

Logan chuckled as he pulled out a toy figure of a man. He had a brown beard, and he wore green clothing, and in one hand was a pistol. "This is Snake. He's from Metal Gear!"

"Ooooooooh," Matt whispered as he stared at Snake. "Where did you get him?!" he asked in an excited tone.

"Smash 'R Us, of course," Logan said, not minding Matt's loud voice.

"I have a toy too," Peter said as he pulled out a blue figure. That figure was a blue hedgehog with red sneakers and white gloves. "This is Sonic! He's created by Sega, and he's a rival of Mario."

"Mario?!" Matt gasped. "I have a Mario toy!"

"That's cool," Peter commented with a smile.

"Hey! We should play with them sometime!" Matt suggested.

Peter and Logan stared at each other before turning back to Matt. "Uh...sure. That would be fun."

Matt looked up at them, smiling. "Yeah! You should see my toys too! I got Marth and Roy from Tokyo, and they're from Fire Emblem! And…"

Even though his toys were the only thing Matt talked about, and even though he repeated a few of the same facts, Zoey, Peter, and Logan listened to every word he said.

* * *

After school, Matt's parents picked him up and drove to Mrs. Delilah's office. When the three entered the office, they saw Mrs. Delilah was already waiting for them.

"Hello there," Mrs. Delilah greeted with a smile.

"Hi, Mrs. Delilah!" Matt answered back with a large grin.

Mrs. Delilah giggled. "You must be in a good mood today!" she commented.

"Yup!"

The family sat on the couch, and Johnathan was the first one to speak. "Something's not right about your diagnosis."

Mrs. Delilah stared at him. "How come?"

"I researched about ADHD and…he appears to not have it. He doesn't show a lot of signs indicating that he has it."

"…Oh," Mrs. Delilah nodded in understanding. "How is he behaving, then?" she asked as she looked at Matt, who was oblivious to what was going on as he played with Marth.

"Not very good," Johnathan said. "The day before our trip, he freaked out over his 'routine' changing slightly. And when we were in Tokyo, he freaked out again for no reason. Plus, he's _still_ obsessed with his toys."

Mrs. Delilah nodded as she wrote down the things Johnathan had said. She then asked, "Anything else?"

"When he was freaking out in Tokyo, he ran out into the street, not realizing that he could've been hit by a car. He also speaks loudly when he's excited, especially when it involves his toys. I remember once, years ago, he didn't like his food being 'broken', or cut in half. He still does that too. Plus, he's clumsy as hell—"

"He has Asperger's," Mrs. Delilah stated.

Johnathan and Maria stared at her. "Huh? Asperger's?" Maria asked.

"Yes. Asperger's. It's a form of autism," Mrs. Delilah explained. "According to what you said, those are the signs and symptoms of Asperger's: meltdowns over routine changes and sensory overload, unable to recognize the dangers around him, tends to speak loudly without realizing, very clumsy, and at times wants things in a particular way, such as his food not being cut in half."

"And the toy obsession?" Maria asked.

"Children with Asperger's also have obsessions, from cars to books, to anything else."

Maria and Johnathan stared at each other with wide eyes. Johnathan then turned to face Mrs. Delilah, his teeth gritting. "You're telling us this _now_?! Why didn't you tell us this years ago?!"

Mrs. Delilah sighed. "We needed to do more research on Matt's strange behavior and compare it to some of our other patients. It was only recently that we came to the conclusion that it might be Asperger's."

Johnathan stared at her, and he sighed. "All right. My apologies."

"Anyway, you two need to act accordingly with Matt. He's not like other children, so he needs extra attention and care."

"Don't tell us what to do!" Johnathan snapped. "We can raise our child however we want—"

"JOHNATHAN!" Maria scolded. "She's our therapist! She has a point; we should take good care of Matt."

Johnathan groaned. "I'm sorry. I just…I can't believe after all these years, it was this autistic thing called Asperger's."

Mrs. Delilah got up from her seat. "It's fine, Mr. Jones. Session's over, by the way."

Matt appeared to not listen to the whole thing, but without the three noticing, he listened upon hearing about Asperger's. _Asperger's? Is…that why I'm different? Because I have this thing called Asperger's?_

After saying goodbye, the family drove home in silence, all three of them thinking about Matt's new diagnosis.

* * *

 **Constructive criticism is welcomed!**

 **Beta reader: h34rt1lly**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Matt had been bothered by the diagnosis since that day. The more he thought about it, the more depressed he grew; it even got to the point that he hadn't been playing with his toys. Although Johnathan saw that as a "sign" that he was outgrowing them, Maria was worried for their son. Maria attempted to convince her husband to bring him to Mrs. Delilah again, but Johnathan claimed that Matt was just shocked.

In fact, Matt kept his new diagnosis a secret from Zoey, Logan, and Peter. He was afraid that if he told them the real reason why he was "different", they would cut ties with him. Plus, the bullies would pick on him much worse.

One day, Matt was sitting in his room, watching television when he heard voices in his toy chest. He hummed as he placed the bowl of popcorn on his bed, and he walked towards the chest and opened its lid.

Inside, the toys were staring up at him with sad and concerned faces.

"Hey, Matt," Fox greeted.

Matt sighed. "Hey…"

"Is-a something wrong?" Mario asked. "You haven't been playing with us for a week now."

Matt hesitated, not wanting to say anything to them. "It's…nothing. Just have a lot on my mind."

"Well-a?" Dr. Mario spoke up. "Tell us! We're your friends!"

Matt gulped. "B-but…you'll hate me for it."

"Huh?!" the toys gasped. They turned to each other, talking loudly. They then turned back to Matt.

"We won't hate you, Matt!" Peach cried. "We like you! No…not that…we _love_ you! You take care of us, and we're always there for you!"

"Yeah, what the princess said!" Bowser piped up.

Matt hesitated again before he gulped. "…Okay. You see…I have Asperger's."

The toys stared at him. "Huh? Asperger's?" Nana and Popo asked simultaneously.

"May I explain?" Marth was the one to speak up.

The toys turned to face the prince, and they all nodded.

"Go ahead, Marth…" Matt whispered.

Marth cleared his throat before speaking again. "You see…Sir Matt had gone to see a therapist, and she's diagnosed him with this thing called…Asperger's."

The toys whispered to each other.

"According to what she had said, Asperger's is a form of autism, where there are many symptoms, such as meltdowns…"

"Oh right!" Ganondorf called out. "He had one of those meltdowns when we were in Tokyo!"

Marth nodded. "Yes. That's correct, Ganondorf. And those who have it…are obsessed with certain things."

"You mean…" Luigi gasped.

"…Us?" Zelda finished.

Marth nodded. "Yes. Correct."

Matt closed his eyes, trying to hold back tears. "I'm sorry, guys…I hid that from you for so long…if you don't want me to keep you anymore, I'll sell you."

"WHAT?!" all the toys cried in shock.

Mario was the one to step forward. "No-a way! You took good care of us! We're your friends! Family in fact! We won't abandon you because you got this Asperger's! Right everyone?!" hHe turned to the other toys, and they all nodded.

"Yeah!" Ness cried. "We're always there for you, Matt!"

Matt smiled slightly, tears dribbling down his face. "Everyone…thank you!"

That was when they all heard wolves howling.

"It's time to go to bed, Matt," Mario spoke with a smile.

Matt smiled back. "Thank you, Mario..." He closed the lid before yawning. "Good night."

"NIGHT MATT!"

Matt chuckled as he crawled in bed before falling asleep. _Thank you, everyone…I love you all, and I won't let anything bad happen to you._

* * *

 _The next day…_

Matt took Roy to school today, and after lunch, Matt grinned and walked out of the cafeteria to meet up with his friends.

He hummed the Fire Emblem theme as he looked around the courtyard. There, in one corner of the yard, Zoey, Peter, and Logan were chatting.

He smiled widely before he walked towards the three. "Hey guys!"

Zoey and her friends turned and smiled at him. "Hi Matt!" Zoey greeted. She looked down at Matt's bag, and she smiled upon seeing Roy in one of the side pockets. "Oooh, who's that?"

"That's Roy. He's from Fire Emblem as well!" Matt spoke.

"You told us that already. A week ago, in fact," Logan reminded him.

Matt chuckled nervously. "Sorry. I forgot I told you guys that."

"Don't worry about it, Matt," Peter laughed. "It happens."

Matt chuckled alongside him.

"By the way, Matt…" Zoey spoke. "I've been meaning to ask you."

"Yeah?" Matt asked, tilting his head.

"Why were you…avoiding us for a week?"

Matt's eyes widened, and he gulped. "I…uh…well…"

"Come on, Matt," Peter insisted. "If something's bothering you, you can tell us. We won't judge. I promise."

Matt looked around the area, hoping that no one was listening in on them. With a sigh, he spoke softly. "I…I have—"

Before the words could come out, mud splattered at the back of his head. He cried out, and he heard laughter from behind him.

"Nice throw, Skip!" Nick commented.

Zoey gasped, and Peter and Logan's eyes went wide.

Before Matt could wipe off the mud from his face, he was suddenly pulled back by his bag. The boys grabbed Roy from the bag's pocket and they laughed. "Look! He still plays with his toys!"

"HEY!" Matt screamed. "Put him down!"

Zoey growled, gritting her teeth together as she stomped towards the two bullies. "That's ENOUGH! Why do you guys keep picking on him?!"

"Shut up, you ugly girl!" Nick yelled.

Zoey was taken aback by the name calling, but she wasn't backing down. "How about _you_ shut up and leave Matt alone!"

Nick and Skipper stared at each other before laughing. "And whatcha gonna do about it?"

"I'll tell the principal!" Zoey threatened.

The two boys laughed. "Like that'll work!"

Before Zoey could protest, Nick slapped her across the face, and Zoey cried out and fell to the ground.

Matt gasped in shock, and Logan and Peter watched the whole thing unfold.

"ZOEY!" Logan cried as he and Peter ran towards her. When Matt examined her, he saw tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

This angered Matt. He had _enough_.

"LEAVE MY BEST FRIEND ALONE, YOU STUPID UGLY JERKS!" Matt screamed so loudly that it caught the attention of the other children.

Zoey, Logan, and Peter stared at Matt, their mouths gaping open at him.

Before the two bullies knew it, Matt pushed Nick to the ground. Nick cried out as he dropped Roy, and the toy slid across the ground, forgotten.

"Wh—" Skipper gasped as he stared at Nick. He turned to see Matt throwing a punch at his face. With a cry, Skipper fell on his back, blood trickling down his nose from the impact.

"WHO'S WEAK NOW?!" Matt screamed.

"FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!" the other children chanted as they gathered around the three boys.

Nick slowly got up, but before he could, Matt pinned him down and threw punches at his face. Nick began to cry as he was being attacked. Skipper attempted to pull Matt off of his friend, but Matt turned and punched him in the stomach. Skipper tumbled over.

Zoey gasped as she got up from the ground. "MATT! STOP!" she screamed.

Matt, however, didn't listen as he was full of fury. He continued to hit Nick until he heard a _snap_ nearby.

Matt's eyes widened, and he slowly turned his head to see Roy crushed by the principal's foot. Principal Taylor called out, "Everyone! That's ENOUGH!"

The children gasped upon realizing that the principal was breaking up the fight. "Oooooh, looks like they're in trouble now!" one of the children said.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Taylor cried out.

Matt ignored him as he got off of Nick to run to Roy. Taylor removed his foot from the toy, and Matt picked it up.

 _ROY! Are you okay?!_ Matt thought frantically.

He could hear Roy coughing in his mind before he whispered in a raspy voice. "Matt…I'm sorry…I'm broken now…you can't…use me anymore…"

Before Matt could think anything to him, Roy's body became lifeless in his mind.

Roy…was dead.

Before Matt had time to mourn, Taylor screamed at him, "To my office, young man!"

Matt let out an "eep", and he got up from the ground, holding the toy against his chest as he ran inside.

* * *

"I can't believe you, Matt Jones…" Taylor growled. "You're lucky that your punishment isn't more severe after that fight. You could've been thrown into juvenile!"

Matt gulped. "But Mr. Taylor…they were hitting Zoey!"

"Yes, Zoey told me that. But that doesn't mean you can go all out on them! You could've come and told me!"

"But—"

"NO BUTS!" Taylor yelled, causing Matt to cover his ears. "You're suspended for four days as your punishment! I'll call your parents for this."

"B-b-but…" Matt felt tears threatening to fall. "It's not fair! They've been picking on me since first grade, and _I_ get punished instead?!"

Taylor sighed. "I punished them as well. You're not the only one. But you're still suspended."

Matt groaned as he stared down at the broken Roy toy. Tears dripped down his face as he held Roy close.

 _Roy…I'm sorry I couldn't protect you…_

* * *

Johnathan was the one to pick up Matt after school. Matt was silent during the ride home, until Johnathan screamed at him halfway. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"

Matt's eyes widened at this. "D-Dad—"

"NO EXCUSES. You were suspended for a _fight_?! What the hell, Matt?!"

"But Dad—"

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" Johnathan yelled, his teeth gritting. "You're being punished tonight!"

"DAD! They were hurting Zoey!" Matt defended.

"AND?! That doesn't mean you go hit the bullies!" Johnathan growled.

When the car pulled up to their house, Matt was the first one to get out. When Matt was halfway up the driveway, Johnathan also climbed out of the car and stomped towards the house. When the two entered, Maria ran towards Matt and embraced him.

"Oh son!" she cried. "What happened?! You're not hurt, aren't you?!"

Matt sniffled. "I-I'm okay, Mom…I taught those bullies a lesson."

Johnathan groaned as he walked away. Maria sat her son down on the couch.

"Care to tell me what happened?"

Matt nodded as he began to tell the story of what happened, including the parts where Nick and Skipper hit Zoey, and how his toy was broken.

Maria listened intently to every word he said as she rubbed his back. "Oh…I see. So you protected Zoey from them?"

Matt nodded.

Maria smiled sweetly. "You're not in trouble."

"Bu—huh?" Matt stared at her.

"You're not in trouble. Your dad is just upset that you got into a fight, but I can see why you did it in the first place. I can say that it's justified."

"Justified?" Matt asked.

"It means that the actions were necessary to you. I know that you're suspended, but you stood up for yourself and your friends, and I'm proud of that."

Matt smiled slightly. "Thanks, Mom…"

The two hugged, but it was cut short when they heard grunting and yelling in Matt's room. Matt looked from Maria's shoulder.

"Huh?" Matt wondered.

Maria sighed. "Your dad must be really upset. Let's go check on him."

The two walked into Matt's room…only to see Johnathan grabbing Matt's four of his toys: Young Link, Mewtwo, Dr. Mario, and Pichu. He then threw Pichu on the ground and smashed him with his foot.

Matt gasped. "DAD!" he screamed.

"JOHNATHAN!" Maria cried out.

"SHUT UP!" Johnathan yelled. "Matt deserves to be punished! So this is a good way to teach him a lesson!"

"DAD! NO!" Matt screamed, tears falling down as he ran towards his father and attempted to restrain him.

Johnathan threw Mewtwo and Dr. Mario out the window, and he gripped Young Link tightly, nearly breaking him.

"JOHNATHAN! THAT'S _ENOUGH!_ " Maria screamed.

Johnathan stopped his rage, and he glared at his wife. "What do you want?!"

"Stop what you're doing! This isn't punishment for our child: this is abusive and destructive for him!"

Johnathan stared at her, then at Matt. With a growl, he threw Young Link on the ground. "FINE! But he's still going to be punished!"

Maria sighed. "Just calm down, Johnathan."

Johnathan groaned as he walked out of Matt's room.

Maria exhaled loudly before she heard sobbing from Matt. She turned to see Matt holding his Pichu toy close, crying.

Maria frowned. _Those toys must be important to him._

"Matt?" Maria whispered.

Matt turned to face his mother. "M-Mom…I'm sorry…"

Maria held him close. "I'm sorry too, Matt."

The two held each other close until Matt whispered, "Mom?"

Maria hummed as she stared down at him.

"Can…can we have a funeral for Roy and Pichu? And can we look for Mewtwo and Dr. Mario?"

Maria hesitated, but eventually, she nodded. "Of course.

* * *

Despite their best efforts, Maria and Matt couldn't find Mewtwo and Dr. Mario outside. Matt began to tear up, thinking about what could have happened to them. With that, they made a mini funeral for Pichu and Roy.

Matt had gotten all of his toys out to help in the funeral, except for Young Link, whom Matt said was "in the hospital to take care of his injuries". Maria had helped Matt dig two small holes for Roy and Pichu, and they placed the two broken toys in each hole.

Matt sniffled. "I'll miss them…"

Maria frowned as she held her son close to her. "Me too, Matt…I bet your other toys would miss them too."

In Matt's mind, he imagined that Marth was sobbing over Roy's "death", and Pikachu placing a flower where Pichu's grave was.

After a few minutes of silence, Matt gathered up his toys and he and Maria walked back inside.

Although Roy and Pichu were now "dead", Matt would never forget them as he stared at the moon, remembering all the fun times they had together.

* * *

 **Constructive criticism is welcomed!**

 **Beta reader: h34rt1lly**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Even though Johnathan said that Matt would be punished, the boy was just given a warning. Matt stayed at home during his suspension, playing with his toys in his room. In the back of his mind, he was still heartbroken over the "deaths" of Roy and Pichu, and Young Link was still "injured" from Johnathan's rage.

Sighing, he was making Mario and Bowser fight in the Battlefield stage when he heard a knock on his door.

"Matt?" Matt recognized his mother's voice behind the door.

Matt stopped what he was doing and faced the door. "Yeah, Mom?"

"Someone's here to visit you," Maria called back.

Matt nodded as he placed his toys back in the toy chest. "Okay, let them come in."

Maria opened the door, and beside her was Zoey, to Matt's surprise.

"Zoey? What are you doing here?" Matt asked.

When Matt looked closer at her face, he saw that the side of it was light red from being slapped.

"I…just wanted to drop by and say 'hi'," Zoey said.

Maria left to give them privacy. Matt sat on his bed as Zoey did the same.

"So uh…" Matt gulped. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay," Zoey answered with a small smile. "I wanted to thank you for defending me from those idiots."

Matt smiled slightly. "Oh, uh…it's nothing."

 _Why am I so nervous?_ he asked himself in his mind. That was when he noticed that his heart was pounding in his chest. _What's going on with me?_

"Say…"

Matt snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Zoey's voice. "How are _you_ doing after being suspended?" Zoey asked.

"I'm…uh…doing okay. I wasn't punished by my parents."

"Oh, I see," Zoey nodded. "To be honest, I was pretty shocked that you attacked the bullies like that. I was expecting you to go and get the principal."

Matt gulped. "W-well, I just hate to see my friends get hurt. I'm kinda surprised as well. I didn't realize I had it in me."

Zoey giggled. "Well, from what I heard from Logan and Peter, you're the talk of the school."

Matt had a confused expression on his face. "I didn't talk about anything there. I'm suspended."

Zoey raised an eyebrow. "No no, that means that everyone's talking about you standing up for yourself. In other words, you're a little popular."

Matt's eyes widened. "I-I am?"

"Yeah," Zoey replied. "Matt, thank you for defending me. You're a great friend."

Matt grinned. Before he knew it, Zoey hugged him tightly. Matt felt his face flushing, and his heart beating faster. Sweat dripped down his face. _Why do I feel this way? What's wrong with me?_

Zoey let him go and she spoke again, "I gotta go. See you at school in a few days, Matt."

Matt still felt his face flushing madly. "O-okay, you too."

Zoey got up from the bed and left the room. Matt waited a few minutes to make sure that she was gone, and he stood as well. He then went to his parents' room, where Maria was making the bed.

"Mom?" Matt asked.

Maria turned to him and smiled widely. "Hello, Matt. What's wrong?" she asked.

Matt gulped. "I…can we talk about something?"

Maria nodded. "Of course, Matt."

After Matt entered the room, she closed the door. He wandered over to the bed and once he sat down, she sat beside him. "Is something the matter?"

"Uh…" Matt gulped. "Zoey and I were talking a bit, and…I felt my face burning up and I was sweating."

Maria hummed as she rubbed his back, listening to him.

"I even felt my heart beating really fast," Matt continued. "I never felt that way before around Zoey till now, and—"

"It sounds like you have a crush on her."

Matt stared at his mother. "Huh? Crush? I don't wanna crush her!"

Maria giggled. "No, Matt. A crush means that you're falling in love with someone."

Matt's eyes widened and he gasped. "Falling in love?! But she's my best friend!"

Maria shrugged. "Well…that's how you're feeling from what you're telling me. I felt that way with your dad, and now look at us."

Matt was silent, registering what his mother had said.

Maria held him close as she whispered,. "It's hard to understand love, Matt. But I'm sure that you'll be okay."

Matt nodded as his mother let him go. "Okay. Thanks, Mom."

Maria smiled as she kissed him on the cheek. "You're welcome, Matt."

Matt then got up from the bed and left the room. He returned to his room, only to hear voices coming from his toy chest. With a raised eyebrow, he opened the chest. The toys looked up at him with curious eyes.

"You're in love, Matt?" Falco asked.

Matt nodded. "I think so."

"Awww, how cute!" Peach squealed, placing her hands together. "Who's the lucky girl?"

"…Zoey," was all Matt said.

The toys stared at him in shock. "ZOEY?!"

"Yeah," Matt whispered. "Mom said that people who are falling in love feel the same way I do. But I'm not really sure..."

"Oh c'mon, Matt!" Popo cried. "You should tell Zoey how you feel!"

"But…" Matt gulped. "What if she doesn't like me?"

The toys were silent at that. After whispering and murmuring, they turned back to him.

"Good-a point," Mario said. "Perhaps wait a bit and see how you feel?"

Matt nodded. "Good idea. Anyway, it's getting dark. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"NIGHT MATT!"

Matt closed the lid, and he crawled into bed to sleep.

* * *

 _A few days later…_

Zoey was right; Matt became popular after the fighting incident. The kids gathered around him, asking him what had happened. Some of them even congratulated him for standing up against Nick and Skipper.

"Wow Matt, you taught them a lesson!"

"You're AWESOME, Matt!"

Matt knew that he was not the only person to be bullied by Nick and Skipper, though he was their main target. Despite having large crowds around him, he kept his cool as he took it all in stride.

He also noticed that since the incident, Nick and Skipper had been avoiding him, both of them afraid of what he might do to them. Matt didn't mind; he was glad that they stopped bullying him.

As Matt wandered around the courtyard, he heard Zoey's voice.

"Hey Matt!"

Matt turned to see Zoey, Logan, and Peter sitting on the cement steps that were on one side of the school's courtyard. Zoey was waving at Matt, and gestured for him to come over.

Matt smiled, but he also felt his heart beating again and his face turning red.

 _No! I shouldn't tell her yet!_

Matt walked towards the three and sat down beside them.

"Hey there," Peter greeted with a grin. "You're very popular today!"

Matt chuckled. "Thanks, Peter."

"So," Zoey asked. "We all brought our action figures with us. Did you bring yours?"

Matt smiled widely at this. "We're going to play?!" he asked in a loud voice.

"Matt, not so loud," Logan reminded him.

Matt chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry…"

"Well, kinda, and showing them off to each other," Zoey said as she grabbed her bag and dug around in it. She pulled out two toys: one of them was a young boy with blond hair, and wore a striped shirt, the other one was a dark blue puffball wearing a mask.

"Oooh, who are they?" Matt asked.

"This is Lucas—" Zoey said as she held the boy up. "—And this is Meta Knight!" she held up the puffball.

"Wow…Smash R' Us, right?" Matt asked.

"Yup!"

Logan and Peter pulled out their figures, Sonic and Snake.

Matt pulled out Ness. "Let's play!" Matt cried.

The four played together with their toys as they talked about trivial things.

Matt felt that he finally fit in with his friends.

* * *

 **NOTE: To those who are being bullied, please don't physically attack them. Trust me; you'll get in serious trouble.**

 **Constructive criticism is welcomed!**

 **Beta reader: h34rt1lly**


	9. Chapter 9

**AAAAAAAA SO SORRY THIS HASN'T BEEN UPDATED SINCE DECEMBER! We had SO much stuff to do, from moving to our new home to writer's block being stupid to me, but I'm finally back to writing this! For those who stayed till I returned, thank you for not losing hope on this story! I'll try to update as much as I can on this! I actually enjoy writing it, since I met so many cool people who also have Asperger's like I do. So glad to be back :)**

 **By the way, my writing style has drastically changed (at least I think so) since December, so a bit of warning that the style in this chapter and onwards won't be like the first eight chapters of this story.**

 **Anyway...ENJOY!**

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

Matt had turned sixteen, and like all teenage boys, he went through difficulties during puberty. Firstly, his voice had grown into a deeper tone, making him sound more like a man than a young boy. Secondly, his hormones began to rage faster than usual. Third, hair began to grow under his arms and on his face, and he had to shave in those areas after every shower. Naturally, he was embarrassed by his sudden changes from a small boy to a soon-to-be man, but with Asperger's, it became more difficult.

His meltdowns happened a bit more frequently, though unlike when he was a boy, they were now emotional outbursts. His raging hormones didn't help him at all when his outbursts happen. However, being a young man, Matt, whenever he felt a meltdown about to happen in school, usually excused himself to the bathroom. He hid in one of the stalls, silently weeping. He didn't want anyone— _anyone_ —to see him be this emotional.

He still had his obsession with his toys, and he in fact bought more of them, Snake and Sonic included, but he kept them more as a collection. He does play and speak with them occasionally, but only in private.

Not only that, but he still harbored a crush on his best friend, Zoey. However, he kept his feelings to himself, thinking that if they were in a relationship, she would find out that he had Asperger's, and she would leave him because of how different he was. He'd rather want her as _just_ a friend.

Now, Matt was beginning to pack for his first day in eleventh grade. Like always, he also packed one of his toys, Snake, to bring with him to show off to his three friends. He never had the chance to hang out or even speak with them last summer, so he also never had the chance to show off his new collection of toys.

"So, Matt..." Snake spoke. "You're excited to go back to school?"

Matt stared at his toy, and looking around his room and at his door, he whispered, "Yes and no."

He heard the other toys whispering to each other, and Matt looked up to see all his toys on his shelf. When he turned thirteen, Johnathan decided to throw away the toy chest the teen owned. Of course, he wanted to throw away the toys inside as well, but after Maria's scolding, Johnathan gave him two days to get all of his toys out. Matt ended up putting them on his shelf that hung on the side of his bed.

"Why 'yes' and 'no'?" Marth asked, an eyebrow raised in Matt's mind.

"Well...'yes' because I can't wait to see my friends, and 'no' because...well...I'm not really sure, but I dread going to school."

"Matt," King Dedede was the one to speak up. "Chin up! It's gonna be fine! Who knows, you might make new friends besides Zoey, Logan, and Peter!"

Matt stared up at the King, and he sighed. Despite King Dedede being a greedy and gluttonous fool, he did have some wisdom for Matt. "Yeah...I guess I'm just nervous."

"Everyone's nervous on their first day at school," Lucas piped up. "Just keep your head up and smile!"

The other toys chattered in agreement, and Matt couldn't help but feel his heart warm up. Despite the hardships he had over the years, he still considered the toys as his true friends, since they were there for him in each and every event in his life, from first discovering he had Asperger's to developing a crush on Zoey.

"Thanks, everyone..." Matt spoke with a smile. "Anyway, see you in the afternoon!"

"SEE YA MATT!" the other toys called as Matt placed his bag on his back and left the room. As he walked down the small hallway, the smell of eggs and toast wafted through the air, and he grinned. His favorite breakfast, and his mother was making it to start off his first day in eleventh grade.

He arrived in the kitchen, and at the table, he saw his father reading the daily newspaper. He reached out at his plate and grabbed his fork, eating the eggs bit by bit as he continued to read.

"Hey, Mom and Dad!" Matt greeted.

Maria turned to see her son, and she smiled widely. "Hello, Matt. My, you're happy today."

"Yep," Matt replied. "Ready to go to eleventh grade!"

Johnathan moved the newspaper down slightly to glance at Matt, and he grunted as a way to greet his son. He scratched his bald head before he returned to reading the newspaper.

Matt sat down on his chair, waiting for his food, and after a few minutes, Maria served him. To his disgust, his toast was cut in half again. Did she forgot that he doesn't like his toast that way? Or was she not paying attention when she made his food?

"Mom..." Matt sighed.

"Yes, dear?"

"You cut my toast."

"Oh my! I am SO sorry, dear! I wasn't paying attention when I made your toast!"

Johnathan groaned, overhearing the conversation as he looked up at Matt. He rolled his eyes at his son before he spoke, "Just eat your damn toast, Matt."

"Dad, you know that I hate eating my toast that's cut like that," Matt defended himself.

"What if that's the only food you have? You can't just throw your food away because it's cut in half! There are thousands of starving kids out there, and you're just going to throw your food away because of the way it looks?!"

"Johnathan, please—" Before Maria could intervene, Johnathan stood up from his chair and interrupted her.

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" Johnathan screamed before turning to Matt. Matt froze when he saw the anger in his father's eyes. Even though he would _never_ touch Matt, hearing his words still hurt the teen. "WHY DON'T YOU ACT _NORMAL_ FOR ONCE?!"

"JOHNATHAN!" Maria gasped. "Give him a break! He couldn't help it!"

"WHY DO YOU KEEP DEFENDING HIM?!"

"Because he has Asperger's—"

"I don't _care_! You ALWAYS use that as an excuse for his actions!"

"For God's sake, Johnathan. Didn't Mrs. Delilah say to act accordingly with Matt?!"

"To hell with Mrs. Delilah's advice! If I could find a cure for this Asperger's crap, I would shove it in his throat and make him a normal child! I don't need a problematic child that I have to take care of!"

This upset Matt more than it should had. Without even looking at his parents in the eye, he ran out of the house, to which Maria gasped and called for him. When she ran out of the house, she found him in their car, and inside, he was curled up into a ball, trying to hold back tears.

Upon seeing her son this upset, she had _enough_.

She stomped back into the house, and Matt could only hear inaudible yelling inside. He shook, trying to hold back more tears as he felt like he was about to have yet another meltdown. He knew his father didn't mean it...or did he? He recently opened his eyes at Johnathan's aggression towards his "problematic" son, and it hurt him even more. Did his Asperger's had anything to do with his and his father's ruined relationship? Was this why his father was more verbally abusive?

However, he heard two words from his father that broke him.

"I'm leaving!"

* * *

Even though Matt had finally calmed down, the fight where his father wanted to leave his own family behind still haunted his mind during the school day. In fact, he was unable to concentrate on his school work until English class in fifth period. His English teacher, Ms. Grille, like all other teachers, gave her students the rulebook of her class, plus introducing herself. To Matt, she seemed friendly and helpful, with her bright smile and her gentle voice.

"Now, class," she spoke. "I'll give you your first assignment for your first day of school!"

Everyone groaned, with some of the students complaining "On the first day?!" and "We just started school!"

Ms. Grille shushed her noisy class in a gentle but stern tone, and the students shut their mouths. "Please no complaining about this. It's going to be a fun assignment! All you have to do is write a story. You'll be graded on creativity, grammar, spelling, and formatting. The final draft has to be typed, and the first draft has to be written by hand."

The class once again groaned, but this time, only a few were chattering in excitement, Matt included. To him, writing a story was a delightful experience as long as he was writing about the things he enjoyed. That was when a thought popped up in his mind, and without thinking, he raised his hand.

"Yes? You there?" Ms. Grille pointed at Matt, not knowing his name yet.

Matt gulped, torn on whether to keep his mouth shut, or to ask the question he wanted answered. Everyone in the classroom was staring at him, and Matt felt like he had done a heinous crime that everyone in class knew. He wondered that if he asked what he wanted, they would laugh at him at how stupid his question was. He could hear it now.

" _Wow! That was a stupid question!"_

" _You're wasting Ms. Grille's time with that!"_

However, he mustered up his courage and quickly asked, "Is it okay to write a story about already existing characters?"

Ms. Grille raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean? Please specify."

Matt felt his heart beating faster when she asked to be more specific. The students still stared at him, but so far, no one laughed or even chuckled at him...yet.

"I-I mean...characters like Mario, Mickey Mouse. Those existing characters."

Ms. Grille smiled, now knowing how to answer his question. "Good question, um..."

"Matt Jones, ma'am," Matt added.

"Matt Jones. Class, Matt asked a good question! Of course you can write a story about characters from games, movies, television shows, and so on. Just as long as you let us know that they're not yours if you're using _any_ preexisting character."

Matt wanted to jump for joy, but of course, he sat still to avoid any more embarrassment. Instead, his right leg bounced under his desk, though thankfully, no one saw it. He had the best idea for this assignment, and he hoped that his story idea would actually net him a good grade at the start of the semester.

* * *

After lunch, Matt wandered around the courtyard of Delores High School to help get his mind to add more to his idea for his assignment. Of course, what happened that morning still bothered him, but he wanted to focus on his work for now despite that.

As he was wandering around, looking down at his shoes, he bumped into someone. A boy, around the same age as Matt, had long, dark brown hair, and he wore a blue shirt with a head of a character on the back he didn't recognize. The character, with the initials "MM" above him, had a robotic head, but he also had human features. The boy also wore blue pants and blue sneakers.

The boy turned to see who bumped into him, and Matt immediately backed up and apologized, "S-sorry! I-I didn't mean to bump into you! I-I'll just leave!"

"Hey," the boy chuckled. "It's fine. Accidents happen." He stared at the blond, studying his face and body. "You're the guy in Ms. Grille's class who asked that 'existing character' question, right?"

"Huh?" Matt tilted his head when the boy asked that. "How did you know?"

"I was in that class too," he said. "To be honest, I wanted to ask that question as well, but I felt that Ms. Grille would say 'no'."

"R-really?" Matt asked. Even though the two just met, it surprised Matt that this boy was friendly towards him.

"Yeah," the boy said. "I'm James, by the way. You're Matt, right?"

"Um...yeah," Matt hesitated. "N-nice to meet you, James."

"Nice to meet ya too!" James said with a grin. He then looked at Matt's backpack, and what caught his eye was the Snake toy he had on the side pocket. "Hey, is that Snake?"

Matt's eyes widened, and he turned his head to look at the toy. In his mind, Matt saw Snake look up at him and smiled, gesturing Matt to continue talking to the other boy. "Y-yeah!" Matt cried in an excited tone. "I own a lot of t...action figures of game characters, like Mario, Sonic, and Link!" Matt hesitated when he said "action figures"—if he said "toys", James would probably make fun of him.

"Cool! I have a couple as well," James said as he grabbed his bag and placed it on the ground. He then crouched down to unzip it.

"Really?!" Matt cried, his voice so loud that the other kids heard him from across the courtyard.

James looked up at Matt, his eyebrow furrowed. Matt immediately tried to calm himself down from his excitement, his face flushing in embarrassment. "S-sorry...I'm just excited."

"It's fine! We get excited about things," James reassured him as he pulled out a toy of a blue robot. He then stood up again. "This is Mega Man. I'm a huge fan of the Mega Man games, so I got a figure of him for my Mega Man collection!"

"You have a collection too?!" Matt gasped. "That's so cool! What's Mega Man about?"

James smiled, not minding Matt's excited tone as he replied, "It's about a shooting game where you fight other robots, and you go up to the final boss to defeat him and end the game!"

"That's amazing!" Matt cried. "I'd like to try the game out!"

"You should! I recommend it, actually," James spoke, his grin still on his face.

"MATT!"

Matt jumped when he heard another voice, and he turned to see Zoey, Logan, and Peter running up to the two. Matt's smile grew wider upon seeing his old friends. "Hey guys!" Matt greeted.

"We were looking for you," Peter spoke, "What's up?"

"Oh, I made a new friend, James!" Matt cried out, as if proud of making a new friend as an accomplishment. "James, these are my friends, Zoey, Peter, and Logan. Zoey, Peter, and Logan, this is James."

"Hi, James!" Zoey greeted, extending her hand to shake hands with James. James chuckled before he shook her hand.

"Hey there," Peter also greeted, smiling as he waved.

Logan just grunted, shrugging at James.

"Nice to meet you three," James said. "You're friends with Matt?"

"Yup!" Zoey answered. "We've been friends since middle school."

"Oh nice," James commented.

"James had a collection of a series called 'Mega Man'," Matt spoke. "He's so cool!"

Before any of Matt's friends could make a comment about his statement, they all heard the bell ring. James grabbed his bag and placed it on his back before saying, "I gotta go. I'd like to talk to you more tomorrow though. See ya later, Matt!" With that, James ran towards another group of students, presumably his classmates.

"See ya, James!" Matt called back, his smile still plastered on his face.

"So glad to see that you made another friend, Matt," Zoey congratulated her friend.

"Th-thanks, Zoey," Matt thanked her, his face flushing. He stared at her face—that gorgeous face—and he smiled. He wanted to grab her and kiss her, and to hold her close—

 _NO! Bad me! Don't fantasize about that!_

"Anyway...see you tomorrow?" Matt asked.

"Of course! See ya!" With that, Zoey, along with Logan and Peter, ran to another direction to head to class.

Matt watched his three friends go, his features still red. However, he turned towards his sixth period class, a smile on his face when he began to think of his new friend, James.

* * *

School was finally over, and all the students ran out of the large high school building to go home and spend time with their families. Matt also walked out of the building, trying to avoid the other kids. Despite the crowd, Matt happily walked towards the parking lot, unaware that his toy ended up falling out of his backpack.

As he waited for his parents' car, he began to think.

 _I can't believe I made another friend! He's so cool, and we're in the same class! I can't wait to see him again and—_

"Hey!"

Matt jumped, snapping him out of his thinking. He slowly turned, and there was a young girl, who appeared to be fifteen, with long, blond hair tied in a ponytail. She wore a yellow long sleeved shirt, and she also wore red shorts and red shoes.

"Um...yeah?" Matt answered her nervously.

"Is this yours?" The girl asked, handing him Snake. Matt's eyes widened, and then he turned to look at his side pocket, noticing that Snake had apparently fallen out of there.

"Ah! My toy!" Matt cried before he snatched Snake out of the girl's hands. After a few seconds of silence, he realized what he had done, and he quickly apologized. "S-sorry..."

"It's fine," the girl smiled. "I saw it fall out of your bag, so I looked for you."

"Th-thanks..." Matt whispered in a small voice, a shy smile on his face. When he looked down at her pocket, he saw a round, yellow ball. On its sides were long arms with orange gloves on. "Wh-what's that in your pocket?" he asked.

The girl looked down to see the yellow ball before she said, "Oh! That's Pac-Man."

"Pac-Man?"

"Yeah." The girl then pulled it out, and Matt could see that the ball had a face, with its eyes looking like two pizzas with one slice out. "He's a game character."

"A game character?!" Matt gasped.

Before he could say anything else, he heard a _honk._ Matt covered his ears at the sudden noise before he turned to see his parents' car waiting on the side. Apparently, his mother was there since the girl had called for him.

"S-sorry, I gotta go. See you, um..." Matt tried to remember if this girl was in one of his classes. He did recognize her, but he doesn't remember what her name was when the teacher did roll call.

"Chelsea," the girl said.

"Chelsea. I'm Matt. See you later, and thanks!" Matt said before he ran towards the car, waving goodbye. Chelsea waved back, a smile on her face as she watched Matt get in his car.

When the car pulled out of the driveway, Matt began to speak to Maria. "Mom! I made _two_ new friends! One is named James, and he plays Mega Man, and the other is named Chelsea! She plays a game called 'Pac-Man", and—"

His rambling was interrupted when he heard a sob from his mother. Matt's eyes widened, his heart breaking when he saw Maria crying. She held a scrunched up, wet tissue in her hand as she gripped the steering wheel with both of her hands in an attempt to continue to drive. Hearing his mother sobbing made him want to cry as well.

"...Mom?" Matt asked, concern written all over his face as his frown intensified. Worse case scenarios flew in his head, and he began to wonder if something must had happened. Did someone in her side of the family died and she just got the news? Was she hurt?

He then remembered: the fight this morning.

What she said next confirmed his fears.

"Matt...your dad left us."

* * *

 **Constructive criticism is welcomed! So glad to be back with you guys! You're awesome! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**NOTE: This chapter contains Autism Speaks. Please no debates in the reviews about it. We're all friends here, and I hate to see people go into heated debates over that kind of stuff.**

 **Also, this has been edited due to how much I hate how I wrote it. Thank you ZacharicO for the concrit! :D**

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

When his mother told him that his father had left them, Matt wanted to cry right there. Maria drove the car in silence, sniffling occasionally as she tried to calm herself down for Matt's sake. Matt also said nothing as he gripped Snake in his hand, and in his mind, Snake was trying to comfort the teen as much as he could. Thoughts brewed in his mind about the fight that had happened between his parents this morning.

Matt knew that Johnathan was verbally abusive, but despite that, he was still his father. Many children and teens would hate their abusive parents, but Matt doesn't want to hate him. Matt wanted to see his father's good side; somewhere, deep inside, Johnathan had some good in him. Not all of him was bad.

But there was one thing that bothered him: what his father had told him that fateful morning.

 _"WHY DON'T YOU ACT_ NORMAL _FOR ONCE?!"_

Matt gulped, trying to hold back tears. Was his Asperger's making him not normal at all? Perhaps that was why he was picked on back in elementary and middle school? Could that be why his father was abusive towards him?

 _If I'm not normal, nobody would want me..._

Maria figured that her son was shocked with the news of his father leaving the family. Wanting to cheer him up, she drove up to a McDonald's and ordered Matt's favorite food: a hamburger with cheese and ketchup only, plus a bag of fries and a Dr. Pepper. After paying for the food and grabbing the bag and drink, she handed them to Matt.

Matt didn't even noticed that they drove up to a McDonald's, and he also didn't notice the food being handed to him. After a few more seconds, Maria called, "Matt. Burger and fries today."

Matt looked up, and he frowned upon seeing the brown bag containing his favorite dinner. As much as he wanted to eat the food, his appetite was shot down thanks to his thoughts.

"I'm...not hungry, Mom."

Maria stared at him, an eyebrow raised when he denied the food. Whenever Matt was given his favorite food, he'd stop what he was doing and eat it up. Perhaps Johnathan leaving had taken its toll on him?

"I thought you love burgers and fries? I made sure they got your burger right, too. Cheese and ketchup only, right?"

Matt nodded, his frown intensified as he sighed. "Yeah, I know. But I'm not hungry. I'll eat it later. Sorry, Mom..."

"Matt…"

Knowing that Matt wouldn't eat his food, she placed the bag and drink to the side, and she drove them home. As soon as the car drove up to the house, Matt grabbed his school bag and got out. Running up to the door, he quickly opened it and ran into his room. He jumped on the bed, and he curled up into a ball, sniffling as the tears finally started to flow.

Snake looked up at the teen, frowning. Despite being part of Matt's collection for only a few years, Snake felt that he knew the teen well. Placing a hand on Matt's cheek, which was soaked with tears, he whispered, "Hey...it's gonna be okay. I know that he's your dad, but he's been a jerk to you from what you told me."

Matt looked up at Snake, and he sniffled. His body was shaking all over from the sudden event in his life, and his left hand was going "crazy" again. "I-I know…" Matt spoke in a low and cracking voice. "But he's still my dad. I know that he's abusive, but it still hurts…"

"Matt?"

Matt looked up to see Ike and the other toys, each and every one of them with concerned faces. Ike was the one to get the teen's attention, and he spoke in a comforting tone. "Hey...cheer up. At least you have your mom." Ike tried to comfort Matt as best as he could. However, Matt felt that they were false words of comfort, and he sniffled, tears still falling down as he tried to wipe them away.

"Yeah, but―"

"NO BUTS!"

Matt and even the other toys jumped when they heard a boy's voice. Matt and the others turned to see Toon Link, a serious expression on his face. When Young Link was nearly broken, Matt's uncle on Maria's side of the family had fixed him into Toon Link. Even though he wished that Young Link was still around, he was appreciative of his uncle's handiwork, and he kept Toon Link as if he was a brand new toy.

"Matt," Toon Link spoke sternly. "I know this is gonna be hard on you, but you still have us! Even if your family or friends abandoned you, or if you felt you're all alone, you have us! We may be just toys to everyone else, but to you, we're your best friends. We're family to you, Matt. You went through other tough obstacles with us, so I'm sure you can go through this!"

The other toys stared at Toon Link, their eyes widened and their mouths gaped open. While the young boy was naive, he did have some wise words to Matt, and during the years since Matt had him, Toon Link was usually the one to help him back up on his feet.

"Yeah," Wolf piped up. "I agree with the kiddo. We're not gonna abandon ya like that good-for-nothin' dad of yours. If anything, we'll always be there for you forever."

"Squirtle, Squirtle!" Matt turned to see Pokémon Trainer's Squirtle jumping up and down, as if agreeing with Wolf and Toon Link. Ivysaur joined in her teammate's jumping, as Charizard nodded in agreement with his two friends.

"Squirtle and the others agreed," Pokémon Trainer translated. "As long as you have us, you're not alone, Matt."

The other toys chattered, all of them agreeing with everything Toon Link, Wolf, and Pokémon Trainer had said. Matt's heart warmed up, and tears continued to flow down his cheeks. However, they were no longer sad tears; they were happy tears this time.

"Everyone...thank you! We'll pull through this...together."

"GO MATT! GO MATT! GO MATT! GO MATT!" the toys chanted, all of them glad to see that Matt hadn't given up yet. As his best friends and family, they didn't want to see Matt this upset, so seeing him standing up and determined to hang on made them happy that they were a part of Matt's life.

Matt got up from his bed and ran towards the shelf holding his toys. Taking them one by one, he held them all into a huge, tight hug. "Thank you, everyone...I'll do what I can to make sure we'll get through this."

"We'll-a do the same for you, Matt!" Mario cried. "We-a won't let you down!"

"Jiggly!" Jigglypuff agreed, her stubby arms up in the air to emphasize her agreement.

As the toys continued to chatter, Matt smiled. I won't let you guys get hurt like Roy and the others did long ago…

* * *

"Matt! Are you doing your homework?"

Matt turned his head upon hearing his mother's voice. With a small smile, he grabbed his bag and pulled out a binder labelled "English class". He then grabbed a pencil from his pencil bag, and he opened the binder, which was full of blank pieces of paper.

"Doing it now, Mom!" Matt called back.

"Do it right, okay?"

"I will, Mom!"

Once he was sure that Maria was gone for now, Matt took the first piece of paper in his binder and began writing. His pencil moved from side to side as he wrote on the upper left side of the paper:

 _Matt Jones_

 _English II, 5th Period_

 _Story Assignment_

He hummed, placing his pencil's eraser in his mouth in deep thought. Even though he knew how to start off the story, he had no idea what to title it. However, each and every one of the titles he thought of, he felt they were bland.

 _Should I name it 'Super Smash Bros Story'? Or Adventures of the Smashers? Or―_

"BEEP BEEP!"

Matt heard the beeping in his mind, and he turned to see ROB raising his robotic arms in the air, as if trying to get the teen's attention. Matt tilted his head, wondering what the robot wanted.

"Yeah, ROB? What's up?" Matt asked.

"I-a think he has an idea for a title, plus a few twists you should add in the story," Mario translated.

"Really?!" Matt gasped, his expression changing into a smile. ROB may not speak English like most of the other Smashers, but he had faith in the robot that he could think of a good title. "Go ahead, ROB. Tell us!"

All ROB could do was make beeping sounds, confusing Matt. Matt wasn't an expert when it comes to robotic language, but thankfully, he had his other toys who could help translate what the robot toy was saying.

"I think Tails told me about this...robot language," Sonic piped up. "ROB is saying, 'How about we name it…The Subspace Emissary?'"

Matt's face lit up. ROB's title was perfect. "Yeah! I like that! I think it fits the story well! And the twists?"

ROB continued beeping, and as he was "talking", Sonic translated for him. "'I think I should be the antagonist. Using Bowser, Wario, or Ganondorf is a bit predicable in my opinion."

Matt smiled widely at ROB's idea. "That's a great idea, ROB! I'll definitely use that! Thanks, guys!"

Before he could write down the title and the beginning of the story, he heard a squeaky voice from his toy shelf.

"Say…"

Matt looked up at Lucas, who had a small smile on his face and his hands interlocked. "I-is it okay if we could help you with your writing?"

Matt nodded even before Lucas could finish his sentence. With his "friends", he was sure that he could make his story assignment a good one, and he knew that he would get a good grade on it thanks to them. "Of course, Lucas!"

With that, Matt got up and placed his binder and pencil on the bed before going to his shelf. Gathering up all of his toys, he returned to his bed and placed them by both of his sides. Sitting down, he grabbed his binder and pencil and began writing. In his mind, his toys looked down at his binder, with a few of them pointing out any mistakes Matt made along the way, to which he scratched out and rewrote.

 _The Subspace Emissary_

 _The arena was massive, with the crowd rooting for two fighters to appear. In the audience were the two princesses: Peach from the Mushroom Kingdom, and Zelda from Hyrule._

 _PEACH AND ZELDA_

 _The two looked at each other, smiling as they waited for two of their friends to appear and battle…_

* * *

The next day at school, Matt focused solely on the story assignment during the lectures throughout each of his classes. He added on the ideas that Wolf―whom he brought to school today―told him. So far, Matt enjoyed writing the Subspace Emissary, and he was already at the point where Link and Yoshi were fighting against more of ROB's minions, the Primids.

During fifth period, he asked James to look over his story for any mistakes he might had made along the way. To Matt's surprise, James praised his work. "Wow, Matt...this is a great story! How did you thought of all this?"

Matt chuckled bashfully, rubbing the back of his blond head. "Well...let's just say that some 'friends' of mine had helped me." He lied, not even bothering saying who his friends were. If he told James what his friends actually were, James would think of him as a "weirdo" or worse, no longer be his friend.

"Nice. Well, keep it up, Matt. I bet you'll get that A in no time!" James encouraged, to which Matt smiled. He never expected to see someone be this nice to him, despite how "different" the teen was. James could end up being a friend Matt wanted to keep for the rest of his life.

* * *

Sixth period came around after lunch and recess, and Matt was the first one to enter his health class.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Jackson!" Matt greeted his health teacher.

Mr. Jackson simply grunted to greet his student, since he was too busy looking over his paperwork. Matt didn't mind Mr. Jackson's grunt as he went to his seat. Pulling out his English binder, he opened it and began writing his story assignment once again.

 _Luigi jumped back upon seeing the Waddle Dee walk up to him, his hands up in a karate motion, ready to fight if the Waddle Dee attacked. The puffball creature simply looked at him briefly before it went on its way. Luigi watched as it walked away, and he "whewed", wiping off the nervous sweat on his face. When he turned, he saw another Waddle Dee right in front of him, and he jumped back in fright. Yelping and holding his hands up in a karate motion again, Luigi shook, fearful of what the creature could do to him._

 _Little did he know that there was a large figure behind him, and the figure raised his hammer and―_

"Matt Jones!"

Matt looked up to see his health teacher standing over him. The man had a stern expression on his face, his teeth gritting in annoyance when he saw his student not paying attention at the start of his class. When Matt looked at his surroundings, he realized that the other students arrived, possibly a while ago. Sitting beside him was the girl he met yesterday, Chelsea. She smiled and mouthed a "hello" to him, not wanting to upset Mr. Jackson more by speaking during rollcall.

"I've been calling your name three times," Mr. Jackson growled. "Please say 'here', or I'll mark you absent."

"Y-yes sir!" Matt gulped, and he raised his hand, calling out, "Here!"

As soon as he said that, he turned to see the other students staring at him, some of them raising their eyebrows as others tried to hold in their chuckles. Matt's features turned red in embarrassment, though when he turned to Chelsea, she smiled in a comforting manner. Sighing, he placed his English binder in his bag and readied himself for his health class.

Mr. Jackson marked his rollcall paper, and he returned to his desk. At that point, Mr. Jackson gave the class the usual lecture, to which Matt wasn't really paying attention to; all he was thinking of what to add to next in his English assignment. Wolf tagged along with helping with his story, telling him some amazing ideas to use. There were some ideas that Wolf suggested that Matt actually denied, thinking that it probably wouldn't work, and Wolf just simply shrugged and let it go.

However, there was one thing that Matt was stuck on: the ending and the final conflict.

I don't want ROB to be the main antagonist in the story, Matt thought, his elbow on his desk where his hand was holding his head. Perhaps I could use Master and Crazy Ha―

The moment he heard Mr. Jackson say "Autism Speaks", Matt's head shot up. He had no idea what his teacher was talking about, but he immediately raised his hand by impulse.

"What's Autism Speaks?" Matt blurted out.

Mr. Jackson raised an eyebrow when Matt blurted out his question. "Have you been paying attention?" he asked.

Matt gulped before looking to see the other students staring at him. His heart pounded so hard that he was sure that it would burst out of his chest, or worse, everyone in the room could hear it. Jeez, Matt...that was a stupid question…pay more attention next time!

"Well, since Matt asked, I'll tell you what it is," Mr. Jackson spoke. "Now class, pay close attention to what I'm about to say."

Matt didn't hesitate to pay attention. He stared at Mr. Jackson intently, though he didn't make eye contact with his teacher; he instead stared at his health teacher's neck. Perhaps this Autism Speaks could help with his Asperger's? Mr. Jackson was a health teacher after all. Maybe he could tell him and the class what Asperger's actually was, and even make him feel better about himself and his condition―

"There are many organizations about autism, and Autism Speaks is one of them," Mr. Jackson started. "They had helped those who have autism, or in some cases, Asperger's, with treatments. I fully support their cause."

Matt's eyes widened when Mr. Jackson explained what Autism Speaks was. _This organization helps?_ He thought. _Perhaps they could help me with my Asperger's…_

Matt raised his hand again. "Do they have a website?"

Mr. Jackson nodded to answer his question. "Google 'Autism Speaks' and you'll find it there."

Matt's smile grew wide, now realizing that this Autism Speaks could help him. Perhaps it could even explain why he had Asperger's in the first place, or even better, help his condition.

* * *

As soon as Matt got home, he immediately jumped on the family computer. Thankfully, Maria wasn't working on there, so he took the chance to look up what Autism Speaks was. He clicked on Google Chrome's icon on the task bar, and he was sent to the Google site.

He didn't hesitate to type in Autism Speaks in the search bar.

However, there was one thing that caught his eye in the search results.

"Autism Speaks bad".

Matt raised an eyebrow, wondering what that actually meant. He heard many good things about this organization, so why was it bad? Was it something they did in the past? But he knew that whoever thought of the organization wanted to dedicate their lives to help those with autism—

However, he was curious enough to click on the "Autism Speaks bad" search result, and the first thing he saw was one site:

"Why I am Against Autism Speaks (and you should be too)".

His eyebrow was raised even higher at this. Curiosity struck again. Why was this person against Autism Speaks? Wasn't it helping those who had autism or Asperger's? They were supposed to be good! Why would this person be against it?

When he opened the page, every question he asked in his mind was answered.

Autism Speaks actually was against those who actually were autistic. Apparently, they thought that autism should be cured like a disease, and even comparing it to AIDS and cancer. Not only that, but they thought that those who had it were only a burden to everyone else and should be "cured" to get back to normal.

This had upset Matt more than it should had. He quickly exited out of the page, and he turned off the computer without a word. He didn't even bother picking up his school bag as he ran into the bathroom, passing Maria along the way to her confusion. Slamming the door and locking it, he curled up on the floor and sobbed his eyes out. He realized it now: he wasn't normal at all, and he was only a burden to his family and friends. His Asperger's was a _curse_.

 _I...I'm not normal. Something's wrong with me. Dad's right...I'm nothing but a mistake who can't be normal...I'm sorry Dad…for being born like this..._

* * *

 **Sorry if adding Autism Speaks offends anyone. I in no way don't think about Asperger's like that: it's just to build up the tension and feelings for Matt in this story. Please be mindful with your reviews when it comes to that, please.**

 **Credit goes to thecaffeinatedautistic on Word Press for their page title and the resources on Autism Speaks! :)**

 **Constructive criticism is welcomed!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Ever since he found out how people could view his Asperger's, Matt had been avoiding his friends. Whenever they saw him and waved at him, the teen simply looked away. When they came up to him to possibly question his strange behavior, Matt walked away as fast as he could. He didn't want to reveal his Asperger's; if they _ever_ found out about it, they would stop being friends with him, or worse, they could spread it around the school, making him more isolated with the other students. He even avoided James and Chelsea, particularly Chelsea; she witnessed the Autism Speaks speech from Mr. Jackson, so he assumed that Chelsea agreed that autism and Asperger's was a disease and that it must be eradicated.

He even avoided his mother, since she was the one who gave birth to him with this condition. He wished he hadn't been born at _all_ , and he wished that if there was a time machine, he'd go back in time to prevent his birth. The feeling of being alone because of his Asperger's made him depressed and lonely.

The only friends he trusted with his Asperger's were his toys. They all understood him, and they were always there for him. They would _never_ abandon him like his father for having it. They _promised_.

Now, Matt was in his room, sighing as he had no idea what to write next in his story assignment. He was near the end of the story, yet he had no idea who to use as the main antagonist. No matter what, he didn't want to use Master and Crazy Hands, believing that it was unoriginal to use hands as the bad guys.

With another sigh, he placed his binder and pencil to the side, and he held his head in his hands. His crazy hand shook slightly, bouncing Matt's head.

"Matt?"

The teen jumped when he heard a squeaky voice. Turning to face the shelf containing his toys, he smiled slightly when he realized it was Ness who was speaking.

"Are you okay?" Ness asked, an eyebrow raised in Matt's mind.

Matt nodded, not willing to talk at the moment. "Yeah...I'm fine."

"But you've been sitting like that for awhile," Wolf was the one to speak up. "You sure you're okay, kiddo?"

Matt turned his head, knowing that his toys wouldn't leave him alone unless he confessed. He understood why they would be concerned for Matt's health, but at the same time, it was overwhelming. However, he didn't want to hurt their feelings if he ever voiced his true feelings. "Not really. I don't know who to make as the antagonist."

"What's an antagonist?" Popo asked, his hand raised as if he was in class.

"If I recalled in middle school," Matt answered, "an antagonist is the villain, the bad guy. For example, Bowser and Ganondorf are antagonists."

"Damn straight," Bowser and Ganondorf quipped at the same time, eliciting a chuckle from Matt. Even though the two villains were evil, they sure had their hidden humorous sides to help cheer Matt up, even though they couldn't admit it.

"Why don't you use Master Hand and Crazy Hand?" Pokemon Trainer was the one to ask, with his Ivysaur nodding in agreement.

Matt shook his head. "I did thought of that, but _hands_ as the bad guys? That could dock points off my grade..."

"How about you take a break? You've been working hard on that story all week now," Lucario suggested.

Matt smiled, glad that his toys wanted to let the boy rest. He grabbed his binder and pencil and placed them back in his school bag. If his toys suggested to take a break, then he would do so. The assignment was due next week anyway, so Matt didn't mind taking a day off from writing.

"So, what do you guys want to do?" Matt asked, getting up from his bed and walking towards the shelf containing his beloved toys.

Diddy Kong began to jump, his hand raised as he made monkey noises. Matt tilted his head, wondering what the smaller Kong wanted.

"The monkey says that we should play a match," Wario piped up. "Me and him, on that Halberd ship thingy that puffball knight drives."

Matt grinned widely as he grabbed Diddy Kong and Wario. "That's a great idea. Let's do it!"

He placed the two toys on his desk, and he grabbed the Halberd toy ship and positioned it in front of them. Grabbing a book, he moved it in front of the ship, and he placed Wario and Diddy Kong on the opposite sides of it. In his mind, Wario entered the battle via his motorcycle, and it exploded as soon as he got off of it. On the other side was a barrel labeled "DK", and after a brief second, Diddy Kong burst out of the barrel, clapping his hands before facing Wario. Matt held out his right hand, counting down.

"Three...two...one...GO!"

With that, he grabbed Diddy Kong and Wario, imagining the fight in amazing detail as the toys began to battle. While Matt was playing, he didn't notice the door cracking open a bit, revealing Maria. She peeked into Matt's room, seeing her teenage son playing with his toys like a young child. Her frown intensified the more she watched her son play with his old toys.

 _He should be outgrowing them by now..._ she thought. _But he's still playing with them. Is it because he had Asperger's that made him like this?_

* * *

The day at school went by pretty quickly to Matt, as he was already in fifth period. Ms. Grille wrote on the board in front of the class, saying to write the words and their definitions in a journal. She also suggested to add the words written on the board in everyone's story for a few extra points. Of course, like any teacher, she reminded the class that the assignment was due next week, and to not wait until the last minute to write it.

As Matt was writing down the words on the board, there was one word that caught his eye, and he grew intrigued the more he stared at it.

 _Taboo: prohibited, forbidden._

Even though Matt knew what "prohibited" and "forbidden" meant, he still had no idea what "taboo" actually meant for some reason. Without even thinking, he raised his hand, and Ms. Grille pointed at him and called on him.

"What's taboo? Could you explain its definition?" Matt asked.

Ms. Grille smiled her trademark sweet smile as she nodded. "Of course, Mr. Jones. Class, listen closely. Taboo means that something is not allowed in our country or in other countries in general. For example, killing another person is taboo. In other words, it's not allowed to kill someone else."

Matt's eyes widened, his heart beating faster. Now knowing what taboo actually meant, he put two and two together and realized: his Asperger's must be taboo as well. From what he read and heard, Asperger's was considered a disease and must be eradicated, thus making it forbidden to have it. If anyone— _anyone—_ found out he had it, things would go downhill for the teen.

His leg bounced, making a small _tap_ noise as it hit the bottom of the desk. He began to sweat as his crazy hand joined in the bouncing by shaking uncontrollably. Thankfully, no one didn't notice his strange behavior...at least, that was what he thought.

He raised his hand, asking if he should use the restroom. Ms. Grille held out her hand, asking for Matt's bathroom slip. The teen immediately pulled out his slip and handed it to her. After she signed her name and the time, she gestured the teen to go on. Without looking at the other students in the eye, Matt rushed out of the classroom and into the boys' restroom. Making sure that no one was inside, he hid in one of the stalls, and he sat down on the cold, hard floor. He held Mario—who he brought with him to school today—in his crazy hand, sniffling as tears began to drip down his face. He knew it. He knew that his Asperger's was not allowed here. He was sure that he wasn't allowed at _all_ in this country if his Asperger's was considered taboo—

He heard a knock on his stall door, and he jumped in surprise. Behind the door, a young voice called out, "Hey...are you okay?"

Matt had to think up a good way to avoid this person. He began his excuse, "I-I'm okay...just that—"

"Are you sure? You've been acting like that the past few weeks now."

Matt's eyes widened. How did he not notice that someone had been seeing his strange behavior? Was this person watching him the last few weeks?

"...Come in," Matt whispered as he unlocked the stall door. A boy, who appeared to be one year older than Matt, entered the stall. He had freckles on his face, and he had curly, red hair. His clothes consisted of a purple shirt, blue jeans, and black shoes. The boy frowned, noticing Matt's tear-stained face.

"You feeling okay?" he asked.

Matt shook his head "no", and the other boy grabbed a roll of toilet paper and ripped a few pieces. He then handed the paper to Matt. "Here. It may not be much, but hopefully it could help your meltdown."

Matt raised an eyebrow, wondering how in the world this boy knew what a "meltdown" was. Despite that, he took the toilet paper and wiped away his tears, sniffling.

"I notice the signs right away," the other boy said, a comforting smile on his face. "You're...autistic?"

Matt's eyes widened, and holding Mario tightly in his hands, he shook his head vehemently. If this boy found out that he had Asperger's, he would be laughed at and even be bullied by him.

The boy smiled slightly, understanding Matt's reaction. "It's okay. I won't judge you. I have a little brother who's also autistic."

Matt tilted his head, trusting the stranger slightly. From what the boy said, apparently he had the knowledge of autism and Asperger's. Without thinking once again, he blurted out, "I have Asperger's."

Realizing what he had said, he gulped, sweat pouring down his forehead. Why did he tell this stranger about his Asperger's? Now the secret was out, and there was _nothing_ he could do—

"Asperger's?" the boy repeated. "My brother also has it. His leg bounces like yours do, though he doesn't notice till Dad pointed it out."

Now, Matt felt more comfortable with the boy. He figured that living with someone who had Asperger's, he knew many of the symptoms and how one acted with it. "R-really?" he asked.

"Yeah," the boy confirmed. "I'm Wayne. You're Matt, right?"

Matt nodded. "Y-yeah..."

When Wayne looked down and saw the Mario toy, he smiled before asking, "You like Nintendo?"

Matt's expression changed into a grin, and he began to speak in a loud and excited voice once Nintendo was brought up. "Yeah! I love Nintendo! I own a lot of figures, like Mario, Link, Pikachu, Samus, and many others!"

Wayne nodded, listening to Matt intently despite the other boy's loud volume. "My brother loves Legos. He couldn't stop talking about them. He's a good kid."

"Awesome!" Matt cried. "Do you think your brother and I could be friends?"

Wayne chuckled before nodding, his smile still on his face. "Of course. I'm sure he'd want to be friends with you."

Before Matt could reply to Wayne's comment, the bell rang. Wayne looked up at the ceiling before he looked at Matt again. "See you at recess and health class?"

Matt nodded quickly before Wayne could finish his sentence. However, when Wayne mentioned health class, he grew curious. "You're in health class as well?"

"We're in each and every class this year," Wayne confirmed. "Anyway...see you at lunch?"

"Yeah! See you, Wayne!"

With that, Wayne left the restroom, and once the other boy was gone, Matt's crazy hand shook (after he placed Mario in his other hand) in excitement. The boy finally made a friend—a friend who understood his condition. Mario chuckled at Matt's excitement. "See? I-a figured you'll find someone who understands you."

 _Yeah!_ Matt replied to Mario in his mind. _I can't wait to see him again at lunch! It makes me happy to meet someone who understands what Asperger's and autism were!_

* * *

Maria noticed that Matt was in high spirits today. For the last few days, she saw how depressed her son was, so seeing him happy and cheerful again warmed her heart up. When the car pulled up the driveway, Matt got out of the car and ran into the house, greeting his toys when he entered his room.

"HI MATT!" the toys greeted back, with some of them chuckling and giggling at Matt's happiness.

"My, you're happy today!" Peach was the first one to comment.

"Yeah! I made another new friend!" Matt cried, "His name is Wayne, and he knows what Asperger's is!"

"REALLY?!" the toys gasped, with some of them chanting Matt's name and celebrating their friend's accomplishment.

"Great job!" Nana cried. "We knew that you'd make a friend who understands you! We just knew it!"

"Yup!" Matt agreed. "He wanted to be a therapist, so he studies many things, including autism!"

"AWESOME!" the toys screamed as they celebrated by dancing. Matt couldn't help but laugh. His toys wanted to see their best friend happy, and when he was, they were overjoyed to see Matt smiling and in high spirits.

The celebrating was interrupted when he heard a knock on the door. He turned to face it, wondering who was there. It could be his mother to remind him to keep it down.

Well, Maria was at the door, but to Matt's surprise, Logan stood beside her. Matt's eyes grew wide, and he took a step back. What was Logan doing here? He then remembered: he had been avoiding Zoey and the others the last few days. He gulped, now knowing why Logan was here: to yell at him for hurting Zoey's feelings. Though now that he thought about it, if Zoey was upset with Matt, _she_ could be at his door, not send out Logan to confront him.

"Matt," Maria spoke with a small smile on her face. "Your friend, Logan, is here to see you."

Matt tried to gulp down a lump in his throat that kept coming back up. Perhaps Zoey did sent Logan to confront him, and if that was the case, he was prepared to be chewed out for hurting his best friend. He knew how sensitive Zoey was, and he figured that him avoiding her could hurt her.

When Maria left the two alone, Matt immediately began to apologize. "I'm so sorry, Logan! I know you're mad at me for avoiding you and Zoey, but—"

"Can I borrow some of those?" Logan interrupted, pointing at Matt's shelf full of toys.

Matt stopped talking and he followed Logan's finger. Raising an eyebrow, he wondered why Logan wanted his toys. Does he want to hang out with him for the day? Or does he need them for something?

"Wh-why?" Matt squeaked out.

"I need them for my...little sister's project," Logan demanded. "I need them _now,_ Matt."

Matt smiled widely, not minding Logan's demands. This was his friend—he wanted to keep Logan happy, so he let him borrow anything, even his toys, to make sure of that.

"Sure!" Matt agreed. When he turned to face his shelf, he asked Logan which ones he wanted. However, Logan grabbed Pokemon Trainer and Squirtle and Ivysaur, Snake, Wolf, and the Ice Climbers without asking. Matt didn't seem to mind; he assumed that he was in a rush.

After placing the toys in his bag, Logan left the house, not even thanking Matt. Matt simply shrugged at Logan's impoliteness, and when he turned to face his toys, they all stared at him. Some of them even had frowns on their faces.

"Matt..." Lucas gulped. "A-are you sure it's a good idea to let Logan borrow them?"

"Of course!" Matt spoke, nodding. "He's my friend! I'm sure he'll bring them back once his little sister was done. We just have to wait till she's finished with her project!"

* * *

Logan left Matt's house, a wide, sinister smirk on his face. As he walked down the street, he chuckled darkly. His mission was a success, though he was surprised that Matt fell for his trick easily.

"Matt's so stupid, trusting me with his toys," he spoke in a whisper, "I'm sure I'll get a lot of money for selling these stupid toys. But for now..."

After about ten minutes of walking, he entered another small town, and he walked towards the nearest store: a music store.

"I need some more money."

He entered the music store, pulling out what could be a pistol from his waistband…

* * *

To Matt's surprise, Logan was absent for half of the day. It was unusual of his friend to be gone, though he assumed that Logan must had been sick, or something came up that forced him to stay home. He hoped that it was just sickness: hearing the death of Logan's family member would tear the other boy up. Perhaps he could come in the middle of class, claiming that he overslept.

However, as the hours passed by, he still saw no sign of Logan. Did something happened? Was he sick? Did he overslept? Or did something popped up?

One particular question that bothered him was: when was Logan going to bring his toys back?

When recess came around, he couldn't stop that gut-wrenching feeling that something was _definitely_ wrong. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he had a _bad_ feeling that something must had happened that caused Logan to stay at home.

When he heard distant sobbing, he turned to see Zoey, who had her face buried in her hands as she sobbed. Peter was right beside her, trying his hardest to comfort her.

Matt's heart broke into small pieces that he wanted to cry himself. Without hesitation, he ran towards Zoey and Peter, concern written all over his face. He'd never seen Zoey be this hysterical before. Did something happened?

He then remembered: he had been avoiding her. Perhaps _he_ had hurt Zoey to the point where she was sobbing her eyes out?

"Zoey?" Matt had the courage to speak up. The girl looked up at Matt, and he could see the tears still dripping down her face. Matt wanted to hug her right here, right now, the more he stared at her upset face.

"Zoey..." Matt gulped. "I'm so sorry I've been avoiding you. It's just that—"

"It's not that," Zoey interrupted.

Matt raised an eyebrow. "Then...what is it?"

He wished he hadn't asked when Zoey sniffled, "L-Logan's...in juvenile for robbing a store with a gun..."

* * *

 **Constructive criticism is welcomed!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"Logan's in juvenile?" Matt couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew Logan since middle school, so he figured that his friend would _never_ go as far as pulling out a gun to rob a store. Why would he go to such measures?

Zoey sniffled, unable to respond to Matt's question. Peter was the one to answer Matt as he rubbed Zoey's back in a comforting manner. "Yeah. Apparently, he took his dad's gun and robbed a store. As soon as he left, the police arrested him and placed him there."

"But..." Matt gasped. "Logan's nice! He'd never do something like that!"

"We're in shock too, Matt," Peter said, his eyes filled with sadness and his mouth drawn into a line. "We knew Logan since elementary school. We couldn't believe he would go to such drastic measures."

"Wh-why would he do something like that?"

"We don't know..." Peter closed his eyes as he whispered that. "All I remembered was he grew up in an awful environment: uncaring and abusive parents, living with no food on the table...I understand why he'd do something like that to get himself and his sister out of that house, but that doesn't mean he should go the criminal route! There are other ways to handle it!"

Matt felt tears welling up in his eyes. He understood the whole situation now: Logan didn't tell Matt about his household, so he figured his life were rainbows and roses. Apparently, Logan grew up in a bad environment to the point he had to become a criminal to get the money to escape.

There was one thing that bothered him though: what happened to the toys Logan borrowed from him?

"What about the action figures he got from me?" Matt asked.

Zoey and Peter stared at him, their eyes widened. "You let him borrow some of your figures?" Zoey gasped.

Matt nodded. Zoey and Peter cringed as they looked at each other, not wanting to tell Matt the bad news. Not wanting to delay the inevitable, they turned to face their friend with sorrowful expressions.

"The police found them in Logan's bag," Zoey explained as she tried to hold back even more tears. "They were broken from the holdup."

"WHAT?!" Matt cried so loud that the other students overheard it. "S-so I can't get them back?"

"..." Zoey and Peter turned to each other again, their frowns intensified. Peter was the one to speak up. "We're not sure. I'm sorry, Matt."

"Wh-what..." Matt gasped, tears beginning to form in his eyes. He realized what a big mistake he had made: giving away his prized possessions to the one he thought was a friend of his. Now, he wouldn't get his toys back, and there was nothing he could do to get them back.

"I'm sorry, Matt..." Zoey hiccuped. "We wish we could do something..."

"Me too, Zoey..." Matt was the one to join in the comforting, even though he needed the comfort as much as Zoey. "Me too..."

* * *

"Matt, we need to talk."

Matt gulped when he heard his mother's serious voice. Looking up from his pizza, he immediately backed down when he saw Maria's serious expression. Her eyes were lowered, and her mouth was drawn in a line, indicating that she was disappointed. He had no idea what he had done wrong, but whatever he did, he was prepared for it.

"I heard from Zoey and Peter," Maria began. "Logan stole your toys? And he's in juvenile for robbing a store?"

Matt hesitated, not sure how Maria would react if he told the truth. Of course, he knew she wanted him to be safe, but he hated to be scolded. "Y-yeah..." he squeaked out.

"I figured why there were sirens at the store when I went grocery shopping yesterday," Maria sighed. "Matt, I know that Logan's your friend, but he's dangerous to hang out with. I'm sorry to say, but you can't go near him again."

Matt's eyes widened when Maria said this. His heart began to beat quickly, and sweat formed on his face. While Logan was in juvenile for what he had done, that didn't mean he couldn't be his friend anymore! "But Mom—"

"I'm sorry, Matt," Maria's expression changed into a sorrowful look. "But he's dangerous. What if he tried to hurt you? If he robbed a store with a gun, I'm sure that he'd go as far as murder! I'm sorry...I know he's your friend, but—"

"SHUT UP MOM!"

Maria jumped when Matt screamed. She placed her hand on her mouth, shocked to hear Matt raise his voice to his own mother. "Matt! I know you're upset, but—"

"It's not fair at all, Mom!" Matt cried, tears beginning to pour down his face. "First you gave birth to me with Asperger's, now I can't be friends with Logan?! Why?!"

Maria's eyes widened, her heart breaking in two. Of course, him reacting to not being friends with Logan was natural, but when he cried out that she gave birth to him, she grew more shocked. "Matt—"

"I wish I was never born, Mom! Why did you marry Dad?! Why did you let me be born?! Because of my Asperger's, I'll never fit in _at ALL!_ No one wants me because of it!"

Maria gasped, and before she could say anything, Matt ran out of the kitchen and into his room. Slamming the door shut and locking it, he jumped in his bed and sobbed in his pillow. First his mother had to give him Asperger's, now she made him stop being friends with Logan. His mind raced with thoughts of not being able to fit in school, or worse, not be able to get a job thanks to his Asperger's. He hated it. He _despised_ himself with all his being. Why would he be born with such a condition? What did he do in his life that he deserved this?

"...Matt?"

Matt knew who was talking, and he simply ignored it. His toys watched their friend cry his heart out, all of them hurt from seeing him in such a state. They all overheard the conversation him and Maria had, and they wanted to comfort him, but Matt was in a much worse state when it comes to his Asperger's, so they decided to let him cry.

It felt like an eternity to Matt when he cried, but eventually, he calmed down. Sitting up on his bed, he sighed to catch his breath from sobbing. He wanted to talk to someone, but he didn't feel like talking to his toys at the moment, nor to his mother. He didn't feel like talking to his friends either, since he was still torn up from having to break his and Logan's friendship.

An idea popped in his mind then, and he grabbed his English binder and pencil. Opening the binder to where he last stopped in his story assignment, he began writing, albeit his handwriting was a bit messy along the way.

 _Master Hand froze, feeling the cords digging in his fingers. The Hand gasped in pain, unable to move further. Attaching the strings was a blue, humanoid man, with large wings that weren't attached to his back. He held the cords tightly, an evil grin on his face as he controlled Master Hand._

Matt stopped writing for a moment, and he placed the eraser of the pencil on his mouth in deep thought. _What to name him..._ he thought. During the last few days of his depression, he felt that this character could be a symbolism of how he was feeling.

He then remembered: a few days ago, he had a meltdown over learning about his Asperger's possibly being taboo. With a small smile, he wrote down the name of the main antagonist:

 _TABUU_.

* * *

Two weeks had passed, and Matt had gotten his story assignment back from Ms. Grille. There were marks on the typed paper that was stapled in the front, though they weren't corrections at all.

Instead, they were words of praise, saying how creative the Subspace Emissary was, and Ms. Grille even gave Matt ten extra points for adding the new word, "taboo", in the story, albeit it was spelled in an interesting way.

Matt's grade total was 110 out of 100. The teen smiled widely, happy to see such a high score on his assignment. In fact, almost all of his classmates didn't reach that many points on their stories. He looked down at Luigi, who in his mind, gave Matt a thumbs up. To Luigi, at least Matt felt much better about his assignment, so hopefully it would bring him back to much higher spirits.

"Great job, Matt."

Matt jumped when he heard a voice beside him, and he turned his head to see James, who had a smile on his face as he held his story assignment in his hands. Matt gulped, now remembering that he had been avoiding James for a while.

"Ah! J-James..." Matt squeaked, looking down at his paper. "I-I'm sorry I've been avoiding you the last few weeks. I've been in a...rut, yeah...that I didn't feel like seeing you or anyone till now."

"Hey, it's fine!" James spoke cheerfully. "I understand!" He looked down at Matt's paper, and his grin turned wider. "What did you do that made Ms. Grille give you ten extra points?"

"Oh, I used a couple of the new words she wrote on the board two weeks ago," Matt admitted, shrugging. "She loves my story, and she even gave me praise on it!"

"Congrats, Matt!"

Matt smiled when he heard Wayne's voice. He turned to face his new friend, and the other boy gave him a thumbs up. "I'm sure the rest of the year's gonna be a breeze to you! I couldn't think of a good story myself!"

Matt simply chuckled, glad that he had good friends. Though he still kept his Asperger's a secret from James, and he recently asked Wayne to not reveal his condition yet until he felt he was ready.

Come to think of it...he wondered how Zoey, Chelsea, and Peter were doing?

* * *

On the weekend, today was Matt's birthday. Maria invited all of his friends to his party, and each and every one came on time. All of them held wrapped presents in their hands, smiling at the birthday boy. Matt felt like he was on top of the world. After thanking each and every one of his friends for coming over, he spotted Zoey, Chelsea, and Peter. Peter and Chelsea had been chatting away, though Zoey was the one to notice Matt.

"Hey, Zoey," Matt greeted.

"Hey, Matt," Zoey greeted back, her smile on.

Matt returned the gesture, though he was still thinking about how Zoey was feeling when he avoided her. Besides the fact that he came to check on her and Peter when they heard the news of Logan, he hadn't spoken to them for a while. He felt terrible, ignoring his friends over what he was thinking. However, he didn't want to reveal his Asperger's yet, so he immediately apologized instead.

"Zoey, I'm sorry for avoiding you. I understand that you're mad, but—" Matt gulped.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Zoey reassured him. "I'm sure that you needed time for yourself. I saw how down you were the last couple of weeks, so we decided to leave you alone until you're better."

Matt smiled at Zoey's kindness. Despite how sensitive Zoey was, she was still understanding of Matt, even putting her feelings aside for his sake. He blushed, wanting to hug her and whisper in her ear a thank you…

He shook his head, trying to get the fantasy out of his head. Lately, his crush on Zoey continued to grow, and every time he saw her, he became...excited, thinking of many fantasies of him wanting to take care of her, to hold her close and to even kiss her. However, he kept all his feelings to himself. He shouldn't feel like this. Zoey was his best friend, and to him, he didn't want it any other way.

After a few minutes, Matt finally blew out the candles. The party each had a slice of chocolate cake and a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and they all chattered as they enjoyed the cake and ice cream.

When Matt was handed cake with vanilla ice cream, he stared at the plate in disgust. His ice cream was touching the cake.

"Mom..." Matt groaned.

Maria looked down at the plate, and she blushed, totally forgetting that Matt didn't like his food that way. "I'm so sorry, Matt! I'll give this to Zoey. I'll make another plate for you. The cake and ice cream needed to be separated, right?"

Matt nodded, and Maria handed the plate to Zoey before she went to grab two separate plates.

After the eating, it was time to open the presents. To Matt's surprise, each of his friends had brought one gift. Zoey was the only one to have more than one: she had two, which were both small.

Zoey was the first one to give Matt her two gifts. Matt studied them, wondering what were inside them. Without hesitation, he opened them. Inside, to his shock and delight, was a Roy action figure. The redhead wore different clothing, unlike his previous counterpart, with blue pants and blue armor. His headband was much longer than the last Roy.

The other one he opened was a man wearing white karate gi, with a red headband tied around his forehead. Matt had no idea who he was, but by the tag, his name was "Ryu" from a game called "Street Fighter".

"I still felt bad when Principal Taylor broke your Roy toy back in middle school, Matt," Zoey spoke. "So I bought this Roy from Ebay, along with Ryu."

Matt had a wide grin on his face, and he hugged Zoey tightly. "Thank you _so_ much, Zoey! I love them!"

Zoey chuckled, holding Matt back. Upon realizing what he was doing, Matt immediately let her go, his face redder than it was.

Next came Peter's gift. When Matt opened it, he was surprised to see _two_ toys inside: two characters by the name of Bayonetta and Corrin. He grinned; he heard of Corrin from the Fire Emblem series, but he never heard of Bayonetta. He grabbed Peter's hand and shook it, thanking him for the amazing gift.

Up next, James' gift. Matt immediately opened the wrapping, and inside, it was a Mega Man figure. Matt's grin grew wider, and like a kid, he jumped up and down from excitement.

"You like it? I figured you'll like the Mega Man series," James commented with a chuckle.

"Thanks, James! I love it!" Matt cried in an excited tone, to which the others laughed softly.

Up next was Chelsea. She handed him the gift, and Matt opened it, revealing Pac-Man. Matt's eyes twinkled in delight, and he hugged Chelsea tightly, thanking her profusely. Chelsea simply giggled as Matt let her go, staring at the Pac-Man toy.

Last was Wayne and his little brother, Adam. Wayne and Adam picked up their present together and handed it to Matt. While Wayne watched Matt open the present, Adam was jumping up and down, his smile growing by the minute.

Inside the box was a young man with spiky blond hair, with an extremely large sword behind his back. He wore strange clothing, along with long, black boots, and the toy had a serious expression on his face.

"WOW!" Matt cried. "Who is that?!"

"That's Cloud Strife," Wayne said. "My brother here loves Final Fantasy, so he decided to find another Cloud toy as a gift for you."

Matt felt like he wanted to scream from happiness. This was the best birthday yet. He grabbed all of the gifts he got and held them tightly, his smile so wide the others swore it could escape from his face.

"Thank you everyone! I love them all!" Matt cried in a loud voice. No one didn't bother telling him to stay quiet; today was his birthday after all, and they wanted the birthday boy to be happy.

"So what should we do today?" Zoey asked.

"Let's play some Nintendo games!" Matt cried, still holding his toys close. He wanted to play with them with all his friends, but he decided against it; he was seventeen now.

With that, the group of friends gathered around the television, and they let Matt pick out a game to play. With so many games he owned, Matt wasn't sure which ones he wanted to play. Ultimately, he decided to play Super Mario Sunshine, and the group took turns playing the Gamecube game.

To Matt, he felt like he finally fit in with all his friends. But at the same time, he still felt that if his Asperger's was revealed, they would all leave him.

* * *

 **Constructive criticism is welcomed!**

 **Also, I've been getting low on ideas on this story, so I was wondering: should I take a few days break to get my mind back on this story? Or continue? I know that I left it off on chapter 8 for months, so I don't want you guys to wait again, but at the same time, I don't want my story to be mediocre because I'm low on ideas...I'm pretty much playing by ear at this point up until the ending (which I planned out before I wrote this)...let me know in the reviews! Or, if you have any good ideas and want to share, either share it via review or PM! I'm willing to listen :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**WARNING: CUTTING, ATTEMPTED SUICIDE, AND BLOOD!**

* * *

 **Chapter 13**

Matt was now twenty-one, and like many adults, he went straight to college. Of course, the move from his home to a small, cramped dorm room made him a bit uneasy, but eventually he managed through it. His mother suggested to keep in touch with her, and if needed, he was always welcomed home.

To Matt's surprise, all of his friends from high school came to Delores College alongside him. Delores College had a variety of courses, from doctoral to even game design and programming, so it was perfect for Matt and his group of friends, as Matt was studying creative writing.

When Matt was cleaning his old backyard, he managed to find Mewtwo and Dr. Mario, albeit they were rusty. He happily re-added his two old toys to his collection (after cleaning them up first). To Matt, it was a miracle that he found them after Johnathan threw them out of his window many years ago.

His collection had also grew bigger. He had kept the toys from his seventeenth birthday, and he also bought new toys every time he got his paycheck from his job as a cashier at Gamestop. So far, his coworkers and even his boss treated him kindly, and they all praised his hard-working ethic. All was well for Matt.

Except...it wasn't.

His insecurities about his Asperger's grew over the years, and he was more distant towards some of his friends, particularly Zoey. So far, Wayne hadn't spilled the beans, but Matt still regretted admitting his condition to the other man years ago, and he felt that he'd reveal his secret once Matt turned his back. Not even his coworkers and boss knew of his Asperger's, since he never put anything relating to that when he filled his application. He felt that if it was revealed to them, he'd be "unfit" to work and would be fired from his job, wasting all the time and effort he had put in.

Now, Matt had entered the college's small cafeteria, and he ordered what he usually eats: a cheeseburger with ketchup only, fries, and a Dr. Pepper. After paying for the food, he walked towards where his table was.

The table that didn't have his friends.

"Hey Matt!"

 _Oh no..._ Matt mentally sighed upon hearing Zoey's voice. He didn't feel like hanging out with them today, so he simply ignored her as he walked towards his isolated table and sat down. Grabbing his burger, he began eating, not even noticing Zoey and his group of friends walking up to him.

"Matt?" Zoey spoke up.

Matt sighed in annoyance, and he looked up to meet Zoey's gaze. The woman had her arms crossed, a concerned expression on her face. "Are you okay? You've been acting strange lately."

"..." Matt shook his head and he continued eating, not even bothering responding to Zoey's question. He didn't have time to talk to them—or _anyone—_ at the moment, and he wished they'd leave him alone and let him eat in peace.

Zoey, however, didn't want any of that, so she sat down beside him, placing her arm around his shoulders. Matt shuddered, not because he didn't like physical contact, but he was hypersensitive to touch.

"Matt..." Zoey whispered. "Ever since high school, you've been acting strange. I don't know what's been eating you, but you can't bottle it up forever."

"I know," Matt sighed. While Zoey had a point, he _still_ didn't want to reveal his Asperger's yet. Not now. Possibly not _ever_.

"Matt," Zoey spoke in a stern voice. "You _need_ to talk to someone. Don't you have a therapist?"

"...Yeah," Matt replied, gripping his burger tightly to the point where it was about to break. "But I don't need her."

"Seriously?" Wayne was the one to speak up. "You've been hiding something from us lately. _I_ know what it is, but I think it's high time you tell it to Zoey and the others—"

Upon hearing Wayne's suggestion, Matt had _enough_. Throwing his burger across the room, he quickly stood up from his chair, glaring at Wayne. "I _told_ you! I told you not to reveal it yet! And you did it anyway!" Matt's shouting had attracted many stares from nearby tables, and Wayne stepped back, his mouth gaped open and his eyes widened in shock.

"Matt—"

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" Matt screamed. "I thought you were my friend! You betrayed me!"

"Matt, please—" Zoey tried to calm her best friend down, but Matt turned and began to tear her down like he did Wayne.

"Oh, I bet your life's all rainbows and roses, having TWO parents! My dad left me all because of what I have, and you're going to MOCK me?!"

Zoey gasped when Matt mentioned her having two parents. In reality...she only had her mother. Her father was killed in a car crash when she was only five years old, and hearing those words come out of Matt hurt her more than it was should have. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she tried her hardest to hold them back to no avail. James was the first one to notice this, and he turned to Matt, his eyes turning into a glare and gritting his teeth upon seeing Matt upsetting Zoey.

"MATT!" James cried, "That's uncalled for—"

"SHUT UP! GET AWAY FROM ME! _ALL_ OF YOU!"

With that, Matt fled out of the cafeteria, as the witnesses continued to stare. Zoey and all of Matt's friends looked on in shock, with Zoey beginning to sob as she buried her face in her hands. James had a frown on his face, as Chelsea and Peter glanced at each other with confused looks. Wayne, meanwhile, stood there in silence. He learned of Matt's Asperger's, so he figured that wasn't the reason why he was acting this way. When Wayne put two and two together, however…

"Why is M-Matt...like this?" Zoey sobbed, trying to wipe away her tears with her hands.

"...I know." Wayne spoke in a soft voice.

All of Matt's friends turned to face Wayne, staring at him as they waited impatiently for him to tell them what was wrong with their friend. If anyone knew what was wrong with Matt, it was _Wayne_. The man was studying therapy, after all. Hopefully he had some answers so the others could help Matt with his problems as best as they could.

Wayne was admittedly uncomfortable with the staring, though seeing how Matt had changed, he _had_ to tell them. If not, Matt could do something completely stupid that could hurt him—or worse—others.

"He told me not to tell you all," Wayne began. "But I think it's time to tell you guys why Matt's like this..."

* * *

Matt ran to his dorm, shutting the door. He jumped in his bed, curled up into a ball, and sobbed. The man went through many years of torture hiding his Asperger's from everyone, and he felt he was about to explode. His body shook all over as he sniffled, though fearing that someone could hear his crying, he tried to take it down a notch by just merely weeping.

"Matt?"

Matt heard the all-too-familiar voice of one of his toys. Looking up at the small shelf, he saw all of his toys staring at him with extreme concern on their faces.

"Is something wrong?" Pac-Man asked, an eyebrow raised.

Matt sighed, wiping away his tears as he got up from his bed. "I-I'm all right..."

"Are you sure? You're crying." Pit asked as he turned to his goddess, Palutena. "Right, Lady Palutena? Is Matt crying?"

"Yes, Pit," Palutena agreed.

"Sweetie..." Bayonetta was the one to speak up, a sickeningly sweet smile on her face. "Tell us: what's the matter? We could help you with your little problem."

"Yes, what the witch says," Mewtwo agreed as the other toys chattered in agreement with Bayonetta and Mewtwo. Even though Matt hadn't played with them much, they were always there for him, making sure that his psyche was doing well and how he was faring in college classes.

Matt sighed, realizing that his toys wouldn't rest until he told them the truth. Grabbing Mario and Luigi, he finally piped up, "I yelled at Zoey and everyone."

"WHAAAAAAT?!" all the toys cried in shock.

"Why?" Lucina cried. "They care about you! Why would you do that?!"

"..." Matt gulped, not wanting to say anything. The pain of what he had done was still fresh, and he didn't want to deepen the wounds he had put on himself. He shook his head, and he walked towards his desk. Moving the books and the lamp, he placed Mario and Luigi back to back, and he held out both his hands on both sides.

"I'll...just play a bit," Matt whispered.

In his mind, he imagined that Master Hand and Crazy Hand had entered Final Destination, fist bumping each other. Mario and Luigi glared at the hands, and they got into their fighting positions: Mario with his fists up in the air, and Luigi doing the same, albeit a bit more shakily thanks to his timid nature.

When the "match" started, Matt began to think about what he had to go through with his life. As Master Hand threw "cards" to raise the Mario Bros. off the stage, the first memory that popped up was how his former bullies, Nick and Skipper, picked on him back in elementary and middle school for being "weird".

* * *

" _Hey, weird kid!" the taller boy named Nick mocked._

 _Matt groaned. Link looked up at the boys, his sword up and ready, but Matt grabbed him. "Sorry, Link. This fight is not for you."_

" _Still talking to your stupid toys, huh?" the shorter boy named Skipper laughed._

" _They are NOT stupid!" Matt cried. "They are my friends!"_

" _Oh yeah?" Skipper chuckled. He then forcefully grabbed Link, but Matt held on, not wanting to let go._

" _Let my friend go!" Matt screamed._

" _Shut up, big baby!" Nick taunted. "That's what you are, a big baby who plays with his toys!"_

* * *

Matt sighed as soon as the flashback disappeared in his mind. As he imagined Crazy Hand grabbing Luigi and squeezing him as Mario tried to rescue his brother, another flashback appeared in his mind, this time when he had his first major meltdown back in Tokyo.

* * *

 _As soon as the words came out, Matt freaked out. He screamed, which prompted some of the people passing by to stare at him. Matt then tore away from his mom and ran through the crowds, straight outside and into the street, where thankfully, none of the taxis hit him._

" _MATT!" Johnathan shouted, his face red from a mix of anger and embarrassment. Maria gasped, placing her hands on her mouth upon seeing Matt not noticing the danger he was putting himself into. The two then ran after Matt, who was pushing away some of the people to run back to the airport and into the store._

" _I-it's too much!" Matt screamed at the top of his lungs, attracting more stares. Some of the people whispered under their breath in Japanese, Crazy American…_

 _Matt then sprinted down the hallway, heading for some of the restaurants close by. He hid under a table at the first one he passed, shaking and humming a strange tune as he tried to calm himself down. He began rocking as he held his head._

" _MATT!"_

 _Matt gulped, knowing that he was in deep trouble with his father. He slowly looked up from the table, and upon seeing his father's angry gaze, he looked away._

" _WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?! YOU COULD'VE BEEN HIT AND KILLED!" Johnathan screamed at the top of his lungs._

 _This got Matt more upset, and he sobbed._

" _JOHNATHAN!" Maria shouted. "He's just upset."_

" _Then what in the world got him upset?!"_

 _Maria stared at him before her gaze switched to Matt, who was holding his Ganondorf toy close to him. "I…"_

* * *

Matt gulped, trying to get his active brain to stop thinking of that incident. He continued to play with his toys, where Mario and Luigi jumped up towards the Hands and kicking them. Then, another flashback suddenly appeared in Matt's mind. This one was about how Mrs. Delilah gave Matt the Asperger's diagnosis.

* * *

" _He has Asperger's," Mrs. Delilah stated._

 _Johnathan and Maria stared at her. "Huh? Asperger's?" Maria asked._

" _Yes. Asperger's. It's a form of autism," Mrs. Delilah explained. "According to what you said, those are the signs and symptoms of Asperger's: meltdowns over routine changes and sensory overload, unable to recognize the dangers around him, tends to speak loudly without realizing, very clumsy, and at times wants things in a particular way, such as his food not being cut in half."_

" _And the toy obsession?" Maria asked._

" _Children with Asperger's also have obsessions, from cars to books, to anything else."_

* * *

Matt stopped playing and held his head, trying to stop the flooding of the painful memories. The more they came up, the worse his amplified emotions grew. Each and every memory that appeared in his head continued one right after the other, and they wouldn't _stop._ It was downright _torture_ for the man.

That was when that one memory—that _one_ memory—broke him:

" _WHY DON'T YOU ACT_ NORMAL _FOR ONCE?!"_

Matt gritted his teeth, and gripping Mario and Luigi in his hands, he threw them on the ground. He held his head tightly, screaming. Turning to face the desk, he grabbed his books and his lamp and threw them on the ground as well without thinking—if he had any thinking at all.

 _The pain...I can't take it anymore!_

He turned to the shelf containing his toys—those _damned_ toys that made him weird in the first place—and he ran towards it. He grabbed it and took it off of the wall, and with his collection still on it, threw it on the ground. Anything he saw was an enemy to him, and he grabbed his blanket and threw it towards the wall, screaming and with tears streaming down his face. He couldn't take it. He couldn't take the hurt and torture he went through with his Asperger's. He must _not_ be living like this.

He ran to his desk and roughly opened one of its drawers, and inside was a sharp blade that was given as a gift from James on his twentieth birthday. He pulled it out of the drawer, and he gripped the blade tightly in his "crazy" hand to the point where his hand turned red. Without a second thought, he slashed his wrists, blood pouring down from the newly formed wounds. To Matt, it was painful physically, yet...satisfying for his emotional pain. He felt relief flowing through his whole being, as if he had finally accomplished his mission. He was _finally_ going to die here, and he had no regrets. He was finally going to be at peace—

"MATT!"

He heard, in his mind, his toys screaming. As he laid on the floor, blood pouring down from his wrists, his active mind began to think:

Mario, along with every toy Matt owned, were up against a giant humanoid with black matter as its skin, who stood in the center of the Final Destination. All of the toys aimed for its head, and each and every time they hit the monster, the swarm was swept away. The humanoid monster held its head, and it then smashed it to the ground. It was Bowser Junior who had given the monster a final blow using his clown machine's cannon, and the swarm began to swarm around and regrouped into what appeared to be a scorpion/wolf hybrid with a bear trap as its mouth.

The characters took immediate action, giving the creature a beating with their strongest attacks. During the battle, many of the characters were screaming, "MATT! HOLD ON!" and "PLEASE HANG IN THERE!"

Little Mac, with his famous Star Punch, managed to defeat the creature, and the swarm came to the middle to turn into a sword...before duplicating itself into five swords. The characters, with most of them with gritted teeth, attacked head-on against the shadowy blades while avoiding the deadly slashes. Meanwhile, Matt held on to his wrists, trying to stop the bleeding as much as possible, but he began to feel his consciousness slipping. However, when he heard the voices of his favorite characters encouraging and screaming for him to hang in there, to not let go, he realized:

 _...Oh my God. I'm going to die. What have I done?_

The Duck Hunt Duo finished off the shadowy blades with their exploding can attack, and the swarm immediately took the form of—to the characters' shock—their best friend, Matt Jones. The man had his hands balled up into fists, and he looked up at his supposed beloved toys, and he screamed in an ominous, distorted voice, "I HATE YOU ALL!"

He attacked with the blade he used to attempt suicide, but Roy was the one to counter it, slashing at Matt. The characters took action with their comrade, and they beaten down the shadowy mess of Matt, making the man smaller and smaller—each and every hit the fake Matt took made him shrink. Eventually, Matt was about the same size as the rest of the characters, giving the heroes ease to defeat him.

Finally, Greninja lured Matt towards him, and the Pokemon threw his Water Shuriken to defeat the fake Matt once and for all.

It felt like it was all over…

Except it wasn't.

The swarm flew to the right side of the stage, and it created an entrance to something—as if it was a trap waiting to spring once the characters took a single step inside it.

Only a few of the characters hesitated, but after the rest entered, they soon followed, wanting to help their friend as well. Mario lead the large group, whispering under his breath repeatedly "Keep hanging on, Matt." As the group went through what could be like a fortress, they found a pulsating core, like a heart pumping blood through a body. Some of them wondered what it was, but the others began to wham it with their weakest attacks. Shulk managed to destroy the core with his Back Slash, and they heard a scream—which sounded like Matt's scream.

The characters had renewed determination to save Matt, and they ran towards the newly formed entrance with a different layout. Inside, many creatures, such as shadowy flowers and even a few of the enemies from the Subspace Emissary, awaited their arrival. Before any of them could do anything, however, the characters managed to take them down with ease. When they reached the end of the corridor, they found another pulsating core. After only a few hits, the core was destroyed, and Matt's scream was once again heard.

They almost defeated what was known as Master Core and Master Fortress as they went through the third entrance. Avoiding the yellow, burning acid and the black masses of enemies, they already arrived at the third core. While half of the characters kept watch to make sure they weren't ambushed by any other enemies they had missed, the other half began whamming at the core, and it was destroyed by Dark Pit's bow. Another scream from Matt was heard, and the fourth entrance awaited the characters.

This was it. They _cannot_ fail this.

They all entered, once again avoiding the yellow acid and the enemies that tried to hinder their progress. There. The final core was in front of them.

Matt, however, was beginning to slip away. But hearing the voices of the characters he knew and loved kept him going as he looked around. He could see the blackness coming in the corners of his eyes, as he tried to find a way to delay himself from fainting from blood loss.

"Matt...hang in there. We need you to _survive!_ " Matt heard Mario cry out in his head. He turned to see his scattered toys on the ground, and in his mind, they all stared at him, with some of them about to tear up from seeing Matt in the state he was in.

Matt knew what he needed to do.

He reached towards the cell phone that sat on his bed, and with only his fingers, he pulled it off of the comforter. With shaky, bleeding hands, he dialed 911, and the dispatcher immediately answered.

"911, what's your emergency?" Matt could barely hear the dispatcher's feminine voice.

"I...slashed my wrists..." Matt choked, trying to hang on for dear life as much as possible. This was literally a life-or-death situation here, and Matt needed help _now._ "Please...send help...my wrists are bleeding...I..."

In his mind, all of the characters managed to destroy the final core already, and they began smashing the core of Master Core. Each and every hit sent it flying farther and farther. Mario, with a cry of "MATT! YOU CAN DO THIS!", used his side Smash attack and sent the core flying—off the stage.

Matt smiled slightly, realizing that he had something—a _reason—_ to live: Nintendo. His toys. His _friends and family_.

As he began to lose consciousness, he saw the door opening and someone's shoes in front of him.

He only heard a faint "MATT!" before darkness took him.

* * *

 **Constructive criticism is welcomed!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

When Matt woke up, the first thing that met his eyes was a bright light. As soon as the light hit him, he immediately closed his eyes to shield them. After he was used to it, he opened them. His senses began to return one by one, and he smelt what could be hospital items and dried blood. He slowly turned his head, and his eyes widened upon seeing his right wrist wrapped up in bandages, dried blood seeping through the soft tissue. Matt then turned to look at his other wrist, and he found that it was also bandaged up.

"Wh...wha…?" Matt wondered, still lightheaded from his attempt to take his own life. When he was more aware of his surroundings, he realized he was bedridden in a hospital bed, hooked up to a heart rate monitor. Apparently, someone must had gotten him to a hospital swiftly, and he managed to live through his attempted suicide.

"It sounds like he's awake," Matt could hear a male voice from the door nearby.

The door was opened, and out came all of Matt's friends. They all ran towards Matt's side, with Chelsea and Zoey's faces tear-stained. When they gathered around the man, Matt saw at the corner of his eye his mother, Maria. But to his surprise, beside her was...Johnathan. What surprised him more was he saw his father's face drenched with what Matt could guess was tears.

"Matt!" Zoey gasped, trying to keep her composure as she stared at her best friend's bedridden and painful state. "You're alive!"

Matt smiled slightly at Zoey—albeit with difficulty due to still feeling pain from his wrists. "Zoey...everyone...you...all came to see me?" he asked.

"Yes," James said, gritting his teeth as he spoke the next sentences. "When Zoey told us what happened, we freaked. Matt...why did you do that? You could've killed yourself!"

"...I know," Matt sighed, looking away from all of his friends and family. While he still appreciated them coming to check on him, he was still ashamed of having them go through this ordeal. Would they ever forgive him at all for his impulsive attempt?

"Matt..." Johnathan was the one to step forward. He held Maria's hand as Matt's mother weeped silently. Johnathan had a sorrowful look on his face as he continued, "When I heard you tried to kill yourself...I cried. I cried like a baby. I know you're upset with me for leaving you when you're only sixteen...but...I'm sorry, Matt."

Matt's eyes widened. Why was his father—the one who abandoned him and his mother when he needed him the most—apologizing? Clearly, Matt was at fault for having his friends and family go through such an awful time. It wasn't Johnathan's fault at _all_ , so why was he apologizing?

"When I was gone, I studied about Asperger's," Johnathan continued. "I realized something: you having Asperger's wasn't a choice. You were born with it, and no matter what I say or do, you'll always live with it. The more I researched about it, the more regretful I become of my actions. Matt...I'm sorry for the abuse I put you through with my words. I'm sorry if my words pushed you this far...will you forgive me, son?"

"Dad..." Matt whimpered, tears now beginning to form. All these years, Matt felt like Johnathan didn't want him anymore because he had Asperger's. Now, his father had _finally_ came forward and apologized. To Matt, it felt like a huge weight was lifted off of his shoulders. With a small smile, he nodded before accepting, "Yes, Dad. I forgive you."

"Which brings us to another point, Matt," Wayne said. Beside him was Adam, now a high scholar, who smiled slightly at Matt in a comforting manner. Of course, Matt could see the pain in his eyes, seeing his friend in such a terrible condition. "I told your friends you had Asperger's."

Matt's eyes grew even wider. Why would Wayne do that? Why would he reveal such a personal secret?

"Matt...why didn't you tell us you have Asperger's?" Chelsea asked, tears still running down her face.

"...I felt that if you guys know about it, you'll abandon me," Matt admitted. "I don't want to lose good friends like you guys. My Asperger's is a disease that needs to be eradicated. I felt that I have no place in society with my condition."

"Matt..." Peter was the next one to speak up. "It doesn't matter to us if you have Asperger's or not. You're our friend."

"That's right," James piped up. "You're human, like us. You may be different, but that's what this world needs. We don't need a boring world where people are the same. We need people like _you_. This world wouldn't be the same without you, Matt."

"Matt..." Zoey began to speak, her voice cracking as she tried her hardest not to cry in front of everyone again. "When I saw you on the floor, bleeding, I felt my heart break. All these years, I grew to love you, and seeing you like that...I wonder how I would live without you."

Matt's eyes grew so wide that everyone was sure that they would escape from his face. All these years, he crushed on Zoey, but didn't admit it. Apparently, Zoey had the same feelings as well towards her best friend.

"Zoey...I-I love you too!" Matt blurted out—this time, he didn't care if he called it out for all to hear. "I'm sorry that you and everyone else had to go through this...I'm sorry for all the terrible things I said..."

"Don't worry Matt," Zoey whispered, hugging Matt while also making sure she doesn't hurt him. "We _care_ about you. If you ever felt that way again, just remember: we _need_ you. Nothing's wrong about you. You're like us: a human who has feelings, not a disease that needs to be gone. Asperger's made you _unique_ , in fact."

Matt's smile grew wider by the minute. His life was finally changing, and this time, he didn't have to hide his Asperger's from anyone anymore. He realized he had people—friends and family—who cheered him on even though he was neurologically diverse.

"Matt...please don't do something like that again," Maria whispered. Seeing her son in such a condition broke her heart; no parent wanted to see their child hurt and in the hospital, and Maria was no exception.

"I won't, Mom..." Matt whispered back. "I promise you that..."

"And Matt..." Johnathan said as he took off a school bag from his back. "I think you should say hello to your friends."

Matt raised an eyebrow, confused, wondering what other "friends" Johnathan was talking about. When Johnathan handed him the bag, Matt opened it. To his surprise, all of his toys from his dorm sat in there. In his mind, they all looked up at Matt, and they all cheered "YOU DID IT MATT!"

Tears began to pour down his face, and he pulled out the very first toys he owned: Mario, Luigi, Pikachu, Link, Samus, Jigglypuff, Ness, Captain Falcon, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Fox, and Kirby. He held them close to his chest, and he softly spoke to them and to all his friends and family:

"Thank you, everyone...I knew that life is worth living...again, thank you..."

* * *

 **Constructive criticism is welcomed!**


	15. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Many years had passed, and Matt had accepted his Asperger's as a part of him. Although it didn't define his personality as a whole, he now considered his Asperger's as what shaped him to this day. All of his friends, his family, and even his wife, Zoey, cheered him on as he became something despite his condition: a toy inventor in a huge toy company, and also an author of three best-selling books, all of them about Asperger's and what living with it felt like.

Zoey and Matt had been married for five years, and Zoey had treated Matt like an equal despite his Asperger's. Zoey eventually gave birth to an adorable baby girl, which Matt named her Amanda. The little girl inherited her father's love for video games and Nintendo toys, while also inheriting her mother's sweet and kind nature.

There was also one thing that Amanda inherited from Matt: she too had Asperger's.

Matt knew this when he saw how she rocked herself back and forth when sitting still. Not only that, but the video games and toys became an obsession of hers, and she would talk about them nonstop. Even though she was only four years old, his daughter showed obvious signs of her having Asperger's, and she was officially diagnosed by their family therapist, Wayne.

Now, Amanda was helping her father and mother clean out their attic, throwing away things that were deemed unnecessary or garbage, or keeping things that were deemed valuable.

When Amanda looked behind her after she found a doll that Zoey owned as a child, she saw a huge box with a label on top of it: "Matt's Toys".

Curiosity got the best of her, and Amanda ran towards the box and tried to pry it open with her tiny hands. When Matt turned to see where his daughter went, he saw her trying to open the box. With a chuckle, he walked towards the girl and asked, "What did you find, Amanda?"

"I find a boxie!" Amanda replied, rocking back and forth on her feet.

Zoey turned to check what was going on, and she smiled when she saw her daughter trying to get the box to open. "You found a boxie?" Zoey asked, walking towards her husband and child and lowering herself to her child's level.

"Yeah, yeah!" Amanda cried in a loud tone as she bounced up and down, pointing at the box.

Matt looked at the box, and his eyes widened when he read the label. His old toys since childhood were in there, packed away after Matt got a job as the head of the toy company he worked in. To Matt, they were long forgotten until now.

"Should we open the boxie, Daddy?" Zoey asked, smiling sweetly at Matt.

Matt nodded, and with his strength, he pulled out the box from where it was. He grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the tape holding the flaps of the box in place. Opening it, his old toys—his old friends—were inside. However, they didn't move in Matt's mind. They all sat in the box, still as statues.

"Oooooh, Ninny toys!" Amanda cried, although she was unable to pronounce "Nintendo" yet.

"Yes, that's right, Amanda." Matt nodded. When he turned to face his daughter, he saw her staring in awe at all the toys Matt had owned years ago. Although they were dusty, they appeared to be brand new; not a single broken limb or a scratch was on all of them.

He smiled. He looked down at his old "friends", and in his mind, he spoke, _Hey guys...long time no see._

The first one that moved was Mario, who looked up at him and smiled. "Hey-a Matt. How are you all these years?"

 _Been doing great,_ Matt replied with his mind. _I have a kid here. Everyone, meet Amanda, my adorable daughter._

"HI AMANDA!" all the toys cried, waving at the little girl.

Even though Amanda couldn't see or hear them, the little girl smiled brightly. "Daddy?" she asked, looking up at her father. "Can I have them?"

Matt hesitated as he looked towards his child. Of course, his toys had saved his life years before, so he didn't want to give them up. But at the same time, he wanted his little girl—his _life—_ to get the help like he did with his best friends; his toys. He smiled at both the toys and at Amanda.

"Of course, kiddo," Matt said, ruffling Amanda's blonde hair. The little girl chuckled as she smiled up at her father, a twinkle in her blue eyes. "Just let me get something so you won't break a delicate bone carrying that box."

"YAAAAAY!" Amanda squealed in excitement, bouncing up and down like a bunny.

Matt left the attic, and after a few minutes, he returned with a large, old school bag—the school bag from when he was in the hospital. He knelt down to pick up his toys one by one and placing them in his bag. Every one of them said their farewells to Matt as he placed them in his old bag. The last one he placed was Mario, who gave the man a thumbs up. "We'll-a take good care of your kid, Matt. You-a can count on us!"

Matt nodded and smiled. Even though the parting was bittersweet, he _knew_ that his old friends could take care of his little girl. _Thank you, Mario and everyone...take care…_

He placed Mario in the bag, and he handed the bag full of Matt's toys to Amanda. With a huge smile on her face, Amanda took the bag and looked into it, seeing all the toys inside. Seeing her happy expression warmed both Matt and Zoey's hearts.

"Take good care of them, Amanda," Matt said. "They're old friends of mine, and I'm sure they'll be your friend when you're nice to them."

"Okay, Daddy!" With that, Amanda ran out of the attic, possibly to return to her room to play with her new toys.

Once Amanda was out of view, Zoey turned to her husband, a small smile forming on her face. "Are you sure it's a good idea to give your old toys to Amanda? They _are_ your friends after all, Matt."

"I know," Matt replied. "But I want Amanda to have friends like I do—friends who would always be there for her, and friends who would be with her through thick and thin...like how they did when I was a kid."

Zoey's smile grew wider when Matt said this. Matt had grown up with these toys, and although she could tell that Matt was sad to give his old friends away, he did have a good point: his friends would do what they could to help Amanda in the upcoming future. Who knew what could happen? Zoey hoped it would be a good future for their little girl's sake.

Matt held Zoey close, kissing her on the cheek. To the boy-now-man behind the hands, growing up with Asperger's was a hard road, but it was all worth it in the end, and Matt wouldn't want it any other way.

Life was good, even with Asperger's.

* * *

 **This is the end! To everyone who stuck through this story till the end: THANK YOU! For those who didn't read the author's note at the beginning of this story, I have Asperger's myself. When I grew up knowing that I was "different" compared to the other kids, I knew that I had something...but I didn't know what it was. When I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome at age 12, it felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. I finally knew why I was like that, and I embraced it happily. My Asperger's is what shaped me to who I am today. My Asperger's is a blessing to me, since I both live with it myself AND living with someone who has it (my father has it as well). I have to be honest: when I first wrote this and planned it out, I feared that it might have gone flat. But with all the praise and the concrit from you lovely readers, I felt that this fanfic is a success. I even managed to make a few friends from their reviews, telling their stories about their own Asperger's and their struggles. Sometimes, I felt alone with my Asperger's, but I knew I wasn't the only one. So everyone...thank you.**

 **Now, special thanks to ManaketeSmoocher for their help with brainstorming the ending and concrit! Special thanks to ZachaRicO for the amazing concrit and pointing out glaring flaws for this story for me to fix! Special thanks to h34rt1lly for beta reading the first eight chapters! Special thanks to Pikminfan for reviewing! Special thanks to Shana Hager for the encouragement and the wonderful reviews! Special thanks to ProdigyGaming for the amazing reviews! Special thanks to Retronym for the reviews also! Special thanks to Paradigm of Writing for adding this story to his community, The Hidden Gems in the Soil, and giving it the attention I felt it deserves! Special thanks to EACH AND EVERY ONE of my reviewers and readers for giving this fanfic a shot and giving it so much attention! Special thanks to the sources that helped me make the story accurate (can't list them all here, hehe)! Special thanks to my mom and dad for helping me as well despite not having Internet for a while!**

 **But most of all: special thanks to Gnoggin on Youtube for making the Smash is Autistic video that inspired me to write this! Seriously, you guys HAVE to check it out if you hadn't already!**

 **Now...on a final note, like what Gnoggin had said in that video:**

" **And whether you have Autism or not...don't let people bully you into being someone you aren't. Just stay awesome, and know that there are those who love, and will support you."**

 **Until next story, everyone...see you soon, friends.**


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